


Safe and Sound

by AspiringAuthor29



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Abused Mac, Attempted Murder, But we already knew this didn't we, Diane is the best mom, F/M, Family Fluff, Gen, Hurt Angus Macgyver (Macgyver 2016), Hurt/Comfort, It's really not okay, Jack and Diane are married, Jack is Mac's dad, Jack loves his Little Buckaroo, James MacGyver's A+ parenting, James and Nikki are terrorists, James basically tortures Mac, Kid Fic, Kidnapping, Mac has anxiety, Mac is an adorable little genius baby, Mac is bullied, Matty is a badass, Protective Jack Dalton (MacGyver 2016), Riley is Jack's daughter, Riley is the best big sister, The author has an obsession with describing Mac's hair, kid mac
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:35:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 24
Words: 89,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27437425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AspiringAuthor29/pseuds/AspiringAuthor29
Summary: Angus MacGyver is a two-year-old boy living with his bomber father. Being abused by his father his whole life, Mac has never known anything but the life he lives, and his boundless knowledge of course. But, when his father gets caught for his deeds, little Mac connects with a particular CIA agent. Can the boy find a home with the agent and his family?
Relationships: Angus MacGyver & Desiree "Desi" Nguyen, Angus MacGyver & James MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), Angus MacGyver & Matilda "Matty" Webber (MacGyver TV 2016), Eventual Mac/Desi, Jack Dalton & Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), Jack Dalton/Diane Davis (MacGyver TV 2016), Riley Davis & Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), Wilt Bozer & Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Comments: 56
Kudos: 51





	1. The Op

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings for graphic child abuse, kidnapping, torture, and violence.

The worst thing by far about working on an elite CIA team was, in Jack Dalton's opinion, the strange hours. It wasn't that they were necessarily early, because he didn't have to be at work until eight A.M, but that was only his general office start hours. More often than not, he would be called in at three in the morning or eleven at night. It wasn't that Jack couldn't get up early either, because he had to get up at the crack of dawn when he was in the military, but it was the unpredictability of it all that made Jack extremely exhausted with it all. Apparently, insurgents didn't have sleep schedules like normal people.

So, when he got called into the office no later than 3:48 A.M., he knew that it was just going to be one of those days. With a quiet groan, he rolled out of bed and tried to get up as quietly as he could. He glanced back down at the bed to see that his wife, Diane, was still sound asleep. He wanted to let her sleep as long as she could, knowing that she had the early shift today at the pediatrics office.

He easily slipped into his usual early assignment routine. He quickly showered, dressed, took care of the frivolous things like brushing his hair, scribbled a note to Diane and his seven-year-old daughter, Riley, and grabbed his go-bag before slipping out the front door.

He flew down the amazingly empty LA highway and pulled into his workplace parking lot with an alarming screech of the breaks. He jogged into the building and went directly to his team's usual conference room. Glancing at his watch, he smirked at the time, it was now 4:14; it had taken him less than a half hour to get here from the time he woke up.

When he entered the conference room, he was met by the gaze of several other people. A black-haired man who was about Jack's age smiled as he walked in. "We were just starting to take bets on how long it would take you to get here, Dalton. It seems like you set a new record for yourself," Jack's old war buddy, Nathan Landers chuckled. Some of the other agent laughed quietly.

"Good for you, Dalton, but just know that I'm not going to pay your speeding ticket when you get pulled over," his boss, Matilda Webber, said from her position at the front of the room, "Or for your funeral."

Everyone, including Jack burst out laughing at Matty's last comment. A good laugh this early in the morning really helped to clear the agents' sleep-deprived brains. When everyone calmed down enough to listen, Matty took the opportunity to rope everyone into their latest mission.

"I hate to break up joke time, but we got a major lead that needs our immediate attention." Jack took his seat between Landers and a young newbie girl named Casey Lithes who had just graduated from Caltech. Jack didn't really have a problem with her, she was a serious badass, but you had to be in order to make it on their team. The only problem: she had virtually no field experience compared to the rest of them.

Everyone turned their attention to Matty when she cleared her throat in annoyance. Once she had their attention, she began, "You all remember the bomber we've been chasing lately, right?"

"How could we not? The guy killed thirty people with one home-made bomb and fifty more that we know of since. We've been hunting him down for six months," a young war medic turned agent named Sean Bochen, said sarcastically.

"Thanks for the lip, Bochen, really appreciated it. Anyway, I think we finally have a lead on the guy," Matty said.

"How can we have a lead? We don't even have name for the guy yet. How are we supposed to track him down?" Darius Cooper, an ex-LAPD agent asked.

Matty rolled her eyes at the question, "Well, Cooper, we happen to now have a name for the bomber. His name is James MacGyver. We located him in a house up in Mission City. He lives deep in the woods on the outskirts of town, so no wonder he wasn't found before this."

The last agent on the team, Amber Reyes, spoke up she. She was older than Casey, but she was still only in her early thirties and was even scarier than half of the men in the room, "If he was so secluded, how did you locate him now? I mean, what kept us from finding him months ago when this all started?"

"As you know, there were no leads towards him. Since we didn't know his name, we couldn't find him. Now that we do, we found out that he owns no property and has no credit cards. This morning, we received a phone call from an employee at a 24-hour hardware store. He had been watching the news lately and saw our broadcasts about the bomber. A man came into his store and bought a massive amount of materials that go into the types of bombs that he had been making lately. The employee called us, and we were able to identify the bomber upon watching the security tapes," Matty explained.

"When are we going to get him?" Landers asked.

"Right now. But you guys have to be careful and keep your coms in for Pete's sake! We don't know what kind of bombs this guy has set up all over his property or if he will set them off. I want this guy alive, so refrain from fire power unless absolutely necessary. Lithes, stick with Landers since this is your first bombing field op. Wheels up in ten guys," Matty commanded.

The six agents hustled out of the room, grabbing go-bags and granola bars as they went. Once they were all set to go, they got on to the jet and it almost immediately took off. Jack snagged his usual seat in the towards the back of the jet. He ate one of his granola bars while he watched Lithes, Cooper, Bochen, and Reyes play a game of poker. Landers walked over and took the seat across from him.

Landers glanced in the direction that Jack was looking. He turned back to him and smirked, "I remember when we used to be calm enough before an op to play card games."

Jack snorted, "Yeah, but there still babies. Even with Bochen and Cooper's law enforcement and military history, they're still youngins. We've seen enough stuff out here to know the 'what could happens' of all this. They're still naïve."

"Are we really that screwed up. With the military and the job, did it really mess us up all that bad?" Landers asked quietly.

Jack shook his head, "Nah, we ain't that messed up yet. Sure we've seen enough violence to take us to our graves, but we wouldn't be who we are without it all. You know how I know that we're not all that messed up? Our families. I got Riley and Diane. You got Ellie, and Max, Logan, Justin, Lacey, Caroline, and Rosie. They wouldn't be with us if we were all that messed up."

Landers chuckled, "Yes my wife Ellie and our brood of children."

"Man, I only got one so you're on your own," Jack responded with a chuckle of his own.

"Do you think this is going to be a bad one?" Landers asked quietly, now completely serious.

Jack shrugged, "It's kinda hard to tell with these ain't it. I got a feelin' that this one's definitely gonna be different. Maybe not bad, necessarily, but different. I just can't put my finger on how it's gonna be different."

"Don't worry about it, I guess, we'll be finding out soon enough anyway. Let's just talk about something besides the op. You ever planning on joining the society of multiple children?" he asked Jack with a smile.

"Me and Diane have talked about it a couple of times, but nothin' ever came of it. With my job there's just too many unknowns to worry about," Jack sighed.

"But you have Riley and you guys do just fine with her," Landers countered.

"Yeah, but we had her before Diane got the Senior Pediatrician position and now her hours are almost as long as mine. Now that Riley's older, she understands and can go with the babysitter, but we wouldn't be able to handle a baby right now," Jack answered.

Landers nodded in agreement and the pair continued to talk about all sorts of things until the jet landed at the closest airport to Mission City, since the city didn't have one itself. The six agents piled into a preplanned vehicle and drove towards the coordinates Matty had sent them on the way over. Two SWAT vehicles followed close behind there's with all of there equipment and lots of backup.

They drove through the woods on hidden little roads for miles until they came to a beat-up dirt road mostly covered in shrubbery. Matty's voice crackled across their coms at this point. "Get your equipment on and start hiking. You're going in on foot from here. Three armored vehicles will be much easier for MacGyver to detect than if you all go in on foot."

"How far is it, Matty?" Cooper practically grumbled.

"Only about a two-mile trek. You can handle it Cooper," she snapped back at him in his ear. He winced at the tone of her voice and Reyes smirked at him.

The group went over to the first SWAT car and started putting on their gear. Jack felt a slight reassurance at the familiar sensation of his TAC vest tightening around his frame; it wasn't much, but they were about to apprehend a highly dangerous bomber so a man had to take what comfort he could get. He holstered his spare gun on the front of his vest and decided to grab one more for his hip holster just in case. He checked the ammunition in the piece that he was going to carry, and finding that it was full, added an extra two clips to his vest. He glanced over at his team and saw that four of them had decided to take the third gun and put it in their hip holsters. Landers was handing an extra one to Lithes and explaining why she needed a backup for the backup sometimes.

"Get moving!" Matty barked. If he hadn't been trained for surprises, Jack would have jumped at this. He had almost completely forgotten that they even had coms. The team had a bad track record of getting rid of coms in the middle of ops and going dark, that's why Matty had warned them about keeping the coms in.

"Move out!" he commanded to his team and the troops of SWAT. His team took the lead as they all silently moved up the road. They all had their guns drawn at the ready out in front of them.

Since they all had physical fitness training, they broke through the tree line two miles later hardly breaking any sweat. "Split!" Jack hissed, "Team one, go around and down the east hill. Team two and three each head down a side of the house. Team four go around to the back door. My team we're headin' right up front. Be on the lookout for anything that could possibly trigger and set off bombs. This guy won't be against killing himself if it me takin' the rest of us out with him. Let's go!"

Stealthily, the groups split up to head towards their assigned positions. Jack brought his hand up and silently waved his teams members forward. They advanced towards the small house, walking in the traditional way. They had their shoulders turned so as to lessen the target area for a bullet, their guns were positioned out in front of them, and they took quick leg over leg steps.

They made it up to the front porch, Jack in the front followed by Cooper, Reyes, Lithes, Bochen, and Landers bringing up the rear. "Ready?" he hissed into his com. There were four hushed replies of "Ready!" from the four teams he had split up over the property. He held up his hand with three fingers up. Slowly, he counted down on his fingers and then clenched his fist when he got to zero. With that, he brought one foot up and broke the door off of its hinges with on powerful kick.

They rushed into the house on high alert. Team four immediately smashed in the back door and entered the house. The teams made quick work of clearing all the rooms until Jack and Bochen went into an upstairs bedroom.

James MacGyver stood with his hands calmly folded behind his back, staring out the window. He didn't even turn around when the two agents entered the room. "Hands in the air!" Jack commanded forcefully, "I said hands in the air!"

Slowly the man raised his hands into the air. "Turn around!" Bochen growled, gun at the ready. James obeyed, keeping his hands raised the whole time. He had a look of complete calm on his face, seemingly not concerned that two CIA agents had guns pointed at him. He even had the nerve to grin. "I watched your men come up the road," he said quietly.

"Shut up!" Jack growled lowly.

"I knew you were coming for me," he stated calmly.

"I said shut up!" Jack snapped, raising his gun to point directly at the man's heart.

"You won't shoot me," James plowed on, "I'm sure your boss wants me alive, so I can stand here and talk all day, but you won't shoot me."

"Try me," Jack said darkly, "I have orders to shoot you if you don't cooperate, now walk away from the window."

"I think that's a stretch. I think your orders were to only shoot me if I was endangering anyone's life, as far as I can see, I am not," James explained. Both Jack and Bochen ready their guns.

"You're endangering lives by not being behind bars, so I can technically shoot you anytime," Bochen said roughly, "Walk away from the window, we're not going to tell you again."

James sighed, "Fine. You're all so dramatic, but if you insist." He slowly came forward and Jack surged forward and roughly shoved him against the wall while Bochen kept his gun trained on James. Jack pulled out a pair of cuffs and shoved them on to James' hands. The pair then left the room and led the bomber downstairs. Once there, some SWAT members came over and led him back towards the way they had come.

"Good job guys, but you have to find proof that he did what he did or we can't convict him, so start searching," Matty commanded over the coms which Jack had once again forgotten about in the chaos of everything that had happened.

Now that everything had calmed down, Jack regrouped his team on the front lawn. "Hey great job out there everybody. I'm real proud of all ya'll, but the boss says that we gotta look for evidence that this guy was making bombs, so let's get lookin' so we can get on home." The group dispersed to search for their evidence, but Jack stopped Lithes by putting his arm around her shoulders.

"I'm especially proud of you, Casey. You did good out there. Believe it or not, I was in your shoes once, so I know that it's scary to go out there and stare down the worst of the worst. Heck, I'm terrified every time we go into one of these places, but it takes a special person to do what we do. Clearly, you got what it takes," he said with a smile. Casey beamed at him, "Thanks, Jack."

He removed his arm so she could run off to help the rest of the team. He smiled after her, the kid had real spunk. She may have still had the fresh eyes of a newbie, but what she lacked in field experience, she made up for in energy. Jack laughed quietly to himself, she acted exactly like Riley.

0000

Two hours later, they had absolutely no evidence against James MacGyver. They ad checked the property up and down, found every nook and cranny there was, but they still came up empty handed. Jack was at his wits end. This guy had killed over eighty people that they knew of and possibly more, he needed to be put behind bars.

Jack and his team were sitting at the dining room table sifting through boxes of files. Matty had video called in and a tablet was set up in the middle of the table with her face on it.

"Since you guys left this morning, I had some of our IT do some digging on James MacGyver. He was actually married when he was 22," Matty was informing them.

"Who would marry this guy? I talked to him before they took him away and he's a total creep," Amber said.

"I agree with you Reyes, but he was apparently quite the man before he went insane. He's a genius, top of his class at his high school, and quite the ladies man too. Every girl fawned over him, but as a senior, his eye was caught by a sophomore girl named Ellen Hayes. She was a sweet, quiet young girl who was top of her class like James. They started dating when he was eighteen and he eventually got her to marry him four years later," Matty went on.

"Poor girl. I bet she didn't even know what she was getting herself into when she married him," Landers said sympathetically, "You keep talking about her in the past tense, so what happened to her?"

"Well, she died a little over a year after they got married, so that would have been about two years ago now. She was almost 21 when it happened."

"What killed her?" Bochen asked.

"That's the thing, I have a new assignment for you guys on top of trying to get evidence to put this guy behind bars for good. She apparently died during childbirth," Matty informed them.

"Wait, did you say childbirth? This creep has a kid!?" Darius exclaimed in surprise, "But Matty, her time of death would only make the kid two years old. Where is it?"

"That's your new assignment. According to records, James still has custody of him. His name is Angus MacGyver, but that's all I have on the boy. Are you sure you didn't see the child?" She asked incredulously.

"Matty, don't you think we would have told you if we found a freaking child in a bomber's house!? No, there is no sign that any toddler lives here. No toys, no highchair, not even an article of clothing," Jack said hurriedly.

Matty looked worried, "Reyes, Cooper, and Boches, keep looking for evidence against MacGyver. Dalton, Landers, and Lithes, look for that child or anything that could tell us where the child is."

Jack, Nathan, and Casey immediately jumped up and fanned out across the property, searching for the child. Jack had already despised this man for killing all of those people, but if they found the child with anything wrong with him, well let's just say that he would be moving up quite a few spots on Jack's hit list.

He was searching along the crick in the woods, truly hoping that he wouldn't find the toddler over here. He knew that if he did, there was a good chance that he would be finding a body. He was about to head back to the house, starting to get very frustrated with the lack of evidence and lack of a toddler, when his com buzzed to life in his ear.

"Jack, Nathan, you guys might want to come over here and check this out. I'm on the edge of the woods to the north of the house," Casey's voice said in his ear.

He pressed his earpiece and responded, "Yeah, I'll be right over." At the same time, he heard Landers respond, "On my way."

Jack turned from his spot along the crick and headed towards Casey's location. He got there at the same time that Landers came jogging from the direction of the house.

"What ya find, Casey?" Jack asked the young girl. She was staring intently at the grass underneath of her, as if she had just found a gold mine.

"This," she answered. She bent down and some how put her fingers underneath the grass. With one tug a square of it pulled away in her hands and revealed three plain 2x4x6 boards covering the ground underneath. Jack didn't hesitate to kneel down and yank the three boards up. When he did this, it revealed a set of cement stairs going down into darkness. Jack squinted and could barely make out a floor below through the darkness.

"Let's go," he said drawing his gun. Landers and Lithes did the same and followed him down into the darkness.


	2. Finding Him

_Previously:_

_"Let's go," he said drawing his gun. Landers and Lithes did the same and followed him down into the darkness._

0000

With slow, careful steps, the three agents made it down the stairs. It was pitch black in the room, but Casey was quick to draw out her phone and turn on the flashlight. She handed the phone to Jack who took it with a nod of thanks. The light from the flashlight cast an eerie glow over the room and the three agents got their first good look of it.

From top to bottom, it was made completely from cement. There were no windows, nor even a source of light. The whole place was held up by two large metal columns in the center of the room. Jack swiveled the light around in order to get a better idea of what they were dealing with. It seemed to be an empty room.

"Damn it," Jack sighed, running a hand through his short-cropped hair. He had felt for sure that this was going to be some secret lab full of evidence to convict MacGyver with. No, he was lying to himself. He had hoped to find the little boy. He knew that it was slim that they were ever going to find the child, and Matty knew it too, but he couldn't help wanting to find the two-year-old. Who knew where the kid was anyway? It was likely that he wasn't even on the property. _If he's still alive_ a little voice in the back of Jack's mind nagged him. As much as he hated to admit it, it was more likely that the voice was right in this situation.

Jack motioned to his companions to head back up the stairs. He would send some lab techs over here to check it out later, but he really didn't think that they were going to find anything. This guy was too easy to apprehend; he knew there was going to be some sort of catch later on.

He was just about to step on to the first step when he heard a quiet noise. He froze, straining his ears in an attempt to listen. He was about to shrug it off as his overactive imagination when it came again. It sounded like a small animal, possibly hurt, or…a baby. Once the thought crossed his mind, Jack was almost confident that it was the tiny whimper of a very young child. He whipped back around determinedly strained his eyes in the limited light. He stopped when his eyes landed on a particular corner.

In the corner was a tiny toddler. He was curled as far into the wall as he could get, but he tried to press himself further into it when he noticed Jack watching him. He had on a dark blue t-shirt, jeans, and bare feet. His blond hair was dirty, as was his entire body. Jack could only stare at him. His big, scared blue eyes sliced into Jack's heart like a white-hot knife. Tears trailed down the small baby face and he sniffled pitifully. The toddler was shivering violently, probably out of both fear and chill.

It took him a moment, but Jack eventually broke out of his trance and slowly made his way towards the boy, holstering his gun in the process. His colleagues were quick to follow in putting their guns away, but they remained back as to not scare the boy anymore than necessary. Jack kept his hands up where the toddler could see them as he approached. The boy sobbed and curled in on himself even more as Jack approached.

"Hey, buddy, I'm here to get ya outta here. How's that sound?" Jack asked as gently as he could. The boy only gazed at him with tear filled eyes in response.

"Your name's Angus, right?" he tried again, "Do you know how to talk yet, bud?" Jack finally reached the small boy and he slowly knelt down so that he would seem less threatening.

"Mac," the little boy whispered, barely audible even in the silent room.

"What was that?" Jack asked quietly.

"Not like Angus. Mac," the boy murmured again.

"Is that what you want to be called, Mac?" Jack asked, finally understanding. The toddler didn't like his first name, so he took the first sounds of his last name and gave himself that name. The child gave a barely perceptible nod in response to Jack's question.

"Alright, Mac, my name's Jack. Now let's get ya outta here, huh?" he asked again, raising his arms in a gesture to pick him up. Unfortunately, he took it the wrong way and coward back against the wall. Fresh tears began to flow down his dirty face, "Pwease no hit. I be good, I be good."

Immediately, Jack withdrew his hands. The raw fear in Mac's eyes made Jack's blood boil. No two-year-old should be in some dirty basement, terrified that someone was going to hit them at any moment. "Hey, hey, I'm not gonna hurt you. I just want to pick you up so I can take you out of here," Jack said in a soft tone, "Can I pick you up?"

Mac nodded and stared at the ground. Jack moved forward and slipped his hands under the toddler's armpits. He lifted him into the air, setting him on his hip, and the boy tucked his face into Jack's neck. He had to hold back a gasp when the boy's freezing face met his warm neck, but he recovered quickly and began to gently rub the boy's too-thin back. Jack seethed when he felt his spinal cord and bony collar bone through his shirt and now that he was close up, he could hear the raspy, labored breaths that the little boy was taking in.

He walked forward with the little bundle and met up with Landers and Lithes who had remained where they were. Mac whimpered as the two agents came closer and tries to snuggle deeper into Jack's shirt.

"I'll radio for an ambulance," Lithes whispered and Jack nodded. She ran ahead and up the stairs, taking Landers with her. Jack ascended the stairs slowly, rubbing the small boy's back the entire time. When they got to the top, Mac burrowed his face farther into Jack, cringing at the light. Jack secretly wondered how long the boy had been down there in order to have him cringing away at the light like that.

The pair got more than a few horrified, sympathetic glares as they made their way across the lawn. He spotted the rest of his team gathered on the front porch and he made his way towards them.

"We found him," he whispered quietly. He felt little tears wet his shirt when he began to speak.

"We heard," Reyes responded. She was staring at the little boy. Amber was not a mother, nor did she really have a steady boyfriend. She claimed that she just didn't get along well with kids, so she tended to shy away from them. According to her, she never planned on becoming a parent in the future anyway. But it seemed that she was looking at the boy with a different light in her eyes.

"Hi little one," she said hesitantly. The little boy sobbed and clung to Jack and she sighed.

Darius laughed, "Kids really do hate you, huh Reyes." She threw a glare in his direction, "Shut up, Cooper."

"All of you be quiet," Jack hissed as the toddler sobbed harder. He turned his head to look at the little boy. "Hey, little buckaroo, it's okay, we're not going to hurt you." He then continued to rub mesmerizing circles on the boy's back until his sobs died down to sniffles.

Lithes leaned over to him, "Ambulance is on its way up the drive now."

He turned towards his team, "I'm going to take Mac over there. You guys keep searching like Matty told us until I hear otherwise, okay?" Everyone nodded and dispersed to _once again_ search the house for evidence. So far, they had found nothing, and honestly had no hope of doing so at this point.

Jack stood in the yard for a moment until he saw the ambulance pull up and park a few feet away. He carried the boy over as the EMTs opened the back. He climbed in and set the boy on the bed. He tried to cling to Jack's shirt as he shivered and cried.

The EMTs tried to come over to check him out, but he cried whenever they got too close. Now that there was a lot of light, Jack could easily see that Mac had a lot more injuries than he had initially noticed. On top of the raspy breaths, hinting towards hurt ribs, the toddler had a nasty purple bruise consuming the right side of his face. His skin was way too pale, accenting the bright red gash on the little boy's arm. Jack hadn't noticed it before, but it was poorly clotted and looked fairly fresh. Jack lowered himself down beside the boy.

"You need to let these people take care of you, buddy. You'll feel a lot better when they do. They're gonna clean you up and make ya all nice and warm. I have to go make a phone call, but I'll stay where you can see me, kay?" Jack explained softly.

The little boy's eyes watered but Jack stood up and left. He knew that if he didn't leave to make the call right then, those innocent blue eyes would keep him right there forever. He tried to ignore the tiny cries he could hear coming from the ambulance as he walked out of earshot, but still close enough to be seen by the boy.

"Hey, Matty," he said into his com.

A snapped reply came back, "I haven't had an update in an hour and a half. You better be telling me that you either found the boy or you found evidence against the scumbag. Actually, I would prefer both."

"We found the boy," he told her, "He was in this hidden basement room. Matty, he's dirty and hurt and scared. He's way too thin and he's probably dehydrated and starving. This bastard needs to be locked away for good."

"I understand that Dalton, but this is a good thing. Not the state of Angus, but with him the way he is, we don't need proof of the bomb's he made. It would be nice because it would lock him up indefinitely, but he could be put away for child endangerment," Matty explained.

"Matty I don't care how you have to do it, just make sure this guy pays. You should see the little guy. He's so darn cute, but he's absolutely terrified of everything. I'm calling you from right outside the ambulance so he can see me. I'm the one who took him out of the basement, and he cries and whimpers anytime anyone else comes near him," Jack said.

"Can he talk yet?" Matty asked.

"Yeah, he can. I called him Angus when I first met him, and he flat out told me that he doesn't like that name. He likes to be called Mac," he answered.

"If he trusts you, then I'm changing your objective. I want the rest of the team to remain at the house for a while longer, but you need to go with him, Dalton. Ride with him to the hospital and stay with him until we figure what's going to happen. That's an order," she commanded.

"Yes ma'am," he said in answer.

"I'll call Landers and fill him in on what's going on and the mission change, so don't worry about any of that," she said.

"Bye," they simultaneously said and hung up the coms.

Jack headed back towards the ambulance where sniffles could still be heard from inside. When he stepped inside, he immediately saw the change in the boy's situation from when he had left. Somehow, the EMTs had wrestled the small boy out of his dirt clothes and into a clean white hospital gown. The gown stuck out strikingly against his dirty frame. He also now had a small IV in the back of his hand that was connected to a bag of clear liquid. He had a tiny nasal cannula tucked over his ears and when he gazed up at Jack, he looked absolutely pathetic.

Jack took a seat beside the bed. "Hey, buddy," he said gently. Mac reached a tiny fist out towards Jack and he took it.

"Pwease no weave," Mac whimpered.

"I won't leave you, I promise," Jack whispered back in reply.

"Alright, we're ready to head out. Is everyone situated for the ride?" one of the EMTs asked. Jack nodded. The EMT shut the doors and the ambulance started up a few seconds later. Jack felt the jerk of it starting to move, but Mac gave a small cry of surprise at the sudden movement.

"Hey, have ya never rode in a car before?" Jack asked him gently.

"N-no," the small boy squeaked, "D-daddy says that onee good boys wide paces."

Jack was not expecting that. Even though he wanted to kill James he said, "I'm sure you're an amazin' little boy. You shouldn't listen to anything that your father told ya."

"I good boy?" he asked in amazement, almost as if he couldn't believe it.

"Of course, you are," Jack said quietly. After that, the boy went quiet. The pair and the EMT rode in silence the rest of the way to the hospital.

When they got there, Jack walked beside the stretcher as they wheeled the terrified boy inside. They immediately placed him in a room and admitted him. A pretty young nurse came in then.

"I came in to give Angus a bath," she said sweetly.

"He prefers Mac," Jack told her.

"Alright then, I'd like to give Mac a bath is that okay. After he's all cleaned up, we'll get him checked out," she explained.

"That's fine," he answered and then turned to Mac, "This nice lady is going to take you to get a bath, kay?"

The boy gazed at him, "You come?"

Jack shook his head, "No buddy, but you'll be back in a few minutes and then you get to stay." He then nodded to the nurse who disconnected Mac's IV and his cannula and swept him up in her arms. Tears filled the boy's eyes, but the kind nurse rubbed his back soothingly. She walked out of the room, whispering to him the whole time. Jack liked her already.

He sighed to himself. When he had left this morning, he never dreamed that he would be sitting in a hospital watching over a traumatized toddler. He remembered how he had told Landers that this one was going to be different, and this was apparently it. He wanted to throttle James MacGyver, now not only because of all of the people he had killed, but because of that little boy that he had hurt.

Jack was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even realize when twenty minutes had passed, and the nurse brought Mac back into the room. His skin was now a shiny white, still too pale, but clean. His matted hair was now in tufts of fluffy blond. The nurse set him back down and hooked him back up to his cannula and IV. As she left, a doctor came in.

He greeted Jack with a nod and then took a seat beside Mac. "Hi, I hear you like to be called Mac. Well, were going to get you all fixed up," the doctor said in a light tone.

He set to work then, carefully wrapping the gash on his arm in white gauze and examining the bruise on his face. He went over to a cabinet and retrieved a bag of yellow liquid. He then grabbed another IV.

"Alright, Mac, you see the IV in your hand? Well, we need to put another one in the other so we can give you some medicine. Is that okay?" the doctor, Doctor Ross, said.

Mac tried to squirm away, but Jack stood up and gripped his hand silently. The doctor took the opportunity to quickly put in the IV and hook up the equipment. Surprisingly, Mac only let out a small whimper when the IV went in. After that, the doctor stood up to go.

"You did really good, Mac. I'll be in later on to check on you, bye friend," he said kindly. Doctor Ross waved Jack out towards the hall. Before he left, he turned to Mac,

"I'll be back in a few minutes bud. I'll be right here, I promise." Mac looked like he wanted to cry but he just snuggled deeper down into the heating blanket that the nurse had given him.

Jack went out with the doctor and stood across from him, "What's the deal, doc?"

"He is seriously dehydrated, so we're giving him fluids for that. I also just hooked up a bout of antibiotics to ward off any infection from that cut on his arm. The cut itself will heal just fine; he probably won't even have a scar. The bruise on his face will just have to heal over time and I don't even have to do x-rays to know that he has some broken ribs. We'll keep him on the cannula to help him breathe while he heals. I'll have a nurse bring him some yogurt or something later on, the doctor informed Jack.

Jack's blood boiled for the umpteenth time today, but he asked the question he had been wanting to ask since they found him in the basement, "What will happen to him when he gets discharged?"

"I don't know."


	3. Discussions And A Big Decision

_Previously:_

_Jack's blood boiled for the umpteenth time today, but he asked the question he had been wanting to ask since they found him in the basement, "What will happen to him once he gets discharged?"_

_"I don't know."_

0000

**CIA Interrogation Room, Los Angeles, California**

Amber stood outside the interrogation room along with Matty and Darius. She peered through the one-way glass to see James MacGyver sitting at the table in the center of the room, hands cuffed to the bar in the center. Two guards stood on each side of the door, waiting for the agents to enter.

"Should we go in?" she asked turning to Matty.

Matty nodded, "You two head in, I'm going to hang back on this one?"

"Really?" Darius asked skeptically.

"Really," Matty confirmed.

Darius and Amber shared a look but came to a silent agreement to drop the subject for now. Darius nodded to one of the guards who opened the door and followed the pair inside. The guard took his new position on the inside of the room as Amber sat down across from James. Darius remained standing, trying to impose a level of intimidation and superiority upon the suspect. It wasn't really getting the desired effect though, because James just grinned at the two agents and leaned back in his chair.

Reyes glared at him, "What's so funny?"

"You guys," he answered easily, "With all of this. It's all so melodramatic."

"You think so? It won't seem so when we lock you in a maximum-security prison," Darius hissed.

MacGyver gave another chuckle, "Really Agent Cooper? And how do you plan on doing that exactly? Also, I would like to know what I'm being charged for; I've done nothing wrong."

"You're being charged on the accounts of child endangerment and the suspected murder of over eighty people via explosives. As for how we plan to do that, I'm not liable to answer that question. That is for CIA personnel to know only," Cooper shot back.

James' facial expressions gave away nothing as he said, "Child endangerment? You guys are just desperately trying to nail me with something, aren't you? I've never endangered a child in my life."

"Yeah? Tell that to the little boy who is currently in a _hospital_ bed, traumatized and hurt. What do you have to say to that?" Reyes growled. This piece of scum was not about to get the upper hand here. No matter how cocky they were, there was always a way to get to them. Amber didn't specialize in suspect interrogation for no reason.

"What little boy are we talking about?" James asked nonchalantly.

"You know what little boy we're talking about, MacGyver!" Darius yelled, his hands slamming down on the table, "Don't get smart with me! You kept your son, Angus MacGyver, in a basement. He was found dirty and hurt. How do you explain that?"

"My son died shortly after birth. He was a sickly baby that made my wife sick. She knew he was sick before he was even born, but she refused to give him up. She wanted to give him a chance, but neither of them survived more than two hours after the birth. Actually, the baby died ten minutes after birth; my wife after two hours. I don't know what child you're talking about," James answered.

"So, you're saying that you didn't put your son in that basement?" Darius asked skeptically.

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

"It only happened two years ago, you don't seem very upset about it," Reyes commented.

"What can I do about it? She was stupid enough to keep the kid and she got herself killed," he answered.

"It seems to me that she was a great woman. She was just trying to give her first baby a chance at life, even though she knew that she probably wasn't going to make it through the process. I'm surprised that you don't feel the same considering he was also your first baby," Reyes said quietly.

"I knew from the beginning that he wasn't going to live, so I didn't get myself too excited about having a son. I just didn't see a point," MacGyver explained.

Darius whirled around and stormed towards the door. He nodded to the guard who let him out of the interrogation room. Reyes jumped up and followed Cooper out of the room without giving a second look towards James.

Once outside, Cooper grabbed his head and began to growl to himself in frustration. Matty whirled on him, "What happened? Why did you leave? We weren't done yet!"

"He's lying! I couldn't stay in there anymore. If I did, I was afraid I would do something against regulation. I just couldn't take how smug he was. I mean, he freakin' locked his own son in a basement and he has the nerve to laugh!" Cooper exploded.

"I know that! That's why I didn't go in. I didn't think I could handle it, but if you don't get something out of him, we won't be able to lock him up for anything and he'll go free!" Matty cried.

"Just leave him for now," Reyes recommended, "He's too smart to give up anything, but if we come back with fresh minds later on, we may be able to figure out a way to get something out of him."

"Okay," Matty agreed, "You two go meet up with Bochen and Lithes and see what you guys can dig up on this guy. I'll call Dalton and see how things are going at the hospital."

**Hospital, Mission City, California**

Jack was sitting beside Mac's hospital bed. When he had come back into the room from talking to the doctor, the little boy's eyes had been droopy, and he had barely been able to keep them open. Jack had talked softly to the toddler until his eyes had finally drifted closed. He had been sound asleep for the past half hour. Jack was perfectly content listening to the soft breathing of the small boy and watching how his face scrunched up in an adorable way.

His phone began to vibrate in his pocket. He stood up and headed back out into the hallway to take the call from Matty, according to the ID.

"Dalton," he answered tersely.

"This is Matty. I was just calling to see how things are going down there," she said.

"Well, the kid's terrified, as you can imagine, and he's kind of busted up. He was seriously dehydrated and he's practically starving. They were just about to bring him some food, but they're starting him on liquids and soft solids because they're not sure that his stomach will be able to handle it with lack of nutrition," Jack informed her.

"Well, we're not having much luck here with MacGyver either. He's smart of course and he is very good at passing a topic off nonchalantly. We did find something on him though, he's apparently a genius. We suspected because of the precision in his bomb making, but now it's confirmed. His IQ is well into the 170s if not higher, so we're trying to figure out a way to outsmart him. So far, it hasn't been working out too well." Matty sighed at the end of her statement and Jack could almost see her running a hand over her face.

"Mac's pretty smart, too. He talks real well for his age. I mean, Riley wasn't talking like him until she was well over three and he just turned two. I'd almost rather have him not talking as well as he does, though, because everything he says is so sad, Matty. In the ambulance, he just couldn't believe that he was a good boy. That little boy has only spent his short two years being told nothin' but how terrible he was and being beaten," Jack practically growled into the phone.

"I know that Dalton. I know how hard this is for all of us, but we're going to get him. I can promise you that, one way or another, we WILL lock him up," Matty insisted

"Before you go, Matty, I have a question to ask you. What's gonna happen to Mac once this is all said and done?" Jack asked.

He could almost see Matty shaking her head on the other end of the phone, "They'll be sending social services over in a few days. Obviously, he can't go back to his dad and his mom's dead. So far, we haven't found any other family for the little boy to go to. I figure they'll put him in the foster system."

"But Matty, kids get lost in the system all the time!" Jack cried.

"I know that Dalton, but that's out of my control. I'll do what I can to get him a good place to go, but I can't make any guarantees," Matty responded with a sigh.

Jack did shake his head, "Alright, I'll call you if I have any updates."

"You make sure that you do that Dalton," Matty commanded, "Bye."

Jack hung up the phone and glanced up to see an older nurse coming up the hallway with a spoon and a cup of vanilla yogurt. He smiled at her and waited for her to enter Mac's room before he followed. She smiled gently at the sight of the sleeping boy and set the yogurt down on his bed tray. She looked up at Jack and whispered, "I don't want to wake the little sweetheart up, so I'm going to leave this here for him when he wakes up."

"Thanks," Jack whispered back, taking his old seat beside the bed. The nurse left and he glanced at his watch. It was a little after four o'clock and he knew that he should probably call Diane to tell her what was going on. Although working for the CIA was supposed to be classified, Jack was forced to tell Diane what he really did after their marriage became very strained over his work. Once she knew what he really did, she completely understood why he had kept it a secret and was actually really proud of him. She was so amazing.

He was about to go out to make the call when the bedsheets suddenly shifted in the bed. The little toddler rolled over and sleepily opened his eyes to gaze at Jack. Jack gave him a smile in return, "Good morning, Trooper. How'd you sleep?"

"Otay," Mac whispered, "But it's not mwornin."

"I know that, but it's just a figure of speech, little dude," Jack replied with a smile. He had told Matty that Mac was smart, and he hadn't been lying when he had said it. The child was abnormally alert and receptive compared to how Riley was at his age. Or maybe it was just Jack being bias.

"Know dat," he responded. Jack just shook his head and grabbed the yogurt off of the tray, "You need to go ahead and eat this. I'm sure you're hungry."

Mac reached out eagerly for the yogurt and Jack removed the film off the top, dipping the spoon in it. He began to hand it to the boy but withdrew it when he had a thought.

Mac looked horrified at the sight of the yogurt being taken away, but he remained quiet. He knew better than to protest about food being taken away because that would only make Jack mad and then he was sure to hit him. He hadn't done it yet, but he knew that it was going to happen eventually. Only kids that could recite the entire Periodic Table without messing up got to eat., but he knew what he needed to do to get the yogurt.

"Hydrogen, atomic numbwer one, Heium, atomic numbwer two, Lifium, atomic numbwer free…" the little boy trailed off when he realized that Jack was staring at him.

"What are you doin', bud?" Jack asked in amazement. He may be no science wiz, but he had worked around those nerdy lab techs long enough to recognize those as elements on the Periodic Table. He couldn't believe that he was watching a two-year-old recite it.

"The Pweriodic Table," came the whimpered reply.

"That's cool and I'm impressed, but why are you doing that?" Jack asked.

"You twook food. I be good boy and say Pweriodic Table to get it bac'," Mac explained quietly, "Daddy says that good boys get to eat when they tell pwerfectly."

"Wait, did your dad make you recite the Periodic Table before you were allowed to eat?" Jack asked, his voice rising in anger, "And did he not feed you if you got it wrong?"

The toddler coward back into his pillow at the tone of Jack's voice, and upon seeing this, he immediately lowered it. "I'm sorry for yelling, but I wasn't yelling at you. I was just upset. Now, I'm not taking your food away, I just wanted to ask you if you could feed yourself."

The boy nodded and took the yogurt from Jack's hands. He dipped himself a spoon and slowly brought it up towards his mouth. He closed his mouth around the spoon and pulled it out, leaving a white trail smeared across his lips. He gave a pleased noise and dipped in for another bite.

"Is that good?" Jack asked the excited boy.

"Nummy!" Mac cried in response. He clumsily brought a third bite up towards his mouth. His hand-eye coordination wasn't exactly completely developed yet, so as the spoon left the container, the yogurt slipped off and smacked onto the food tray. Mac froze and his eyes immediately began to well up with tears. The fist holding the spoon began to shake as the tears spilled onto his cheeks. Jack immediately jumped up and went to the side of the little boy's bed.

"Hey, it's okay. Don't cry, we'll just clean it up, buddy, please don't cry," Jack begged the little boy. He grabbed a napkin off of the tray and wiped the yogurt up with one swipe.

"I sorry, I sorry. Assident onee assident," the poor toddler sobbed.

"I know it was only an accident. It's not a big deal. It's all cleaned up, see?" Jack whispered to Mac. Jack wanted to scream, but he knew better than to do it for fear of a) getting kicked out and b) scaring Mac even more. He knew that the child's incessant apologies stemmed from fear of his father and the fact that James probably took every chance to hit the boy.

Jack gently took the spoon from Mac's still shaking hand and dipped it into the yogurt. "How about I feed ya?" he asked gently, "That way we won't have any more accidents." Mac obeyed by opening his little mouth and accepting the yogurt. Jack spoon fed him until the entire container was gone and he said, "All gone! You did good, buddy!"

Just as he was saying this the young nurse, Nurse Abbott he knew now, that had given Mac a bath came in. She smiled at the pair. "I see you ate all of your yogurt! Good job, sweetie!" she cried. "The doctor ordered an MRI to make sure he doesn't have a concussion or anything like that, so we'll be back in twenty minutes or a half hour," she said to Jack and then turning to Mac she said, "I'm going to take you to have a test done, honey. You're going to go into this really cool machine, and we'll be able to see pictures of that little brain of yours."

She bent down and began to disconnect him from his equipment and she once again swept him up in her arms. He cried out and reached for Jack whimpering the whole time, "Dack, Dack, pwease no weave. No go, no go." He squirmed desperately in the nurse's arms until she was forced to put him down so she wouldn't drop him. He tried to toddle towards Jack, but his legs weren't prepared for the movement because he pitched forward, towards the floor. He gave a small squeak of surprise, but the nurse could only stare with a look of horror on her face. Jack lunged forward and grabbed his shoulders right before he slammed into the tile. He clutched Mac while he cried into Jack's shoulder.

"It's okay, I've got you. You need to let this nice nurse take you get a test done, and when you come back, I'll be right here. Okay?" Jack soothed.

Carefully, he handed the boy back over to the nurse. Mac immediately buried his little face into the nurse's shoulder as she carried him away. Jack felt immensely guilty for handing the boy over, but he knew that he had to get the MRI to make sure that his head wasn't hurt from all of his dad's beatings. He took the quiet time to make yet another phone call.

He pulled out his phone and dialed Diane's number. She picked up on the first ring, "Hey, honey."

"Hey, baby," Jack responded, "How was your day?"

"Chaotic as usual. We had some normal cases come through, you know, the normal Chickenpox and kindergarten vaccine. We did have a strange one today though. There was a little girl who came through that had a pencil eraser stuck up her nose. I had to use a pair of pliers to get it out," Diane informed him, "But that's enough about me. How was the mission? When are you coming home?"

"Well, you know that I'm not exactly allowed to tell you about the mission. But I do want to talk to you about something," Jack started.

"Go ahead, I'm listening," Diane prodded.

"Well, like I said, I can't tell ya that much about the mission, but I can tell ya that we found this little boy. His name is Angus MacGyver, but he likes to be called Mac because he hated his first name. He's in the Mission City hospital because his dad's a bastard. Anyway, he's two and he doesn't have any family to go to. His mom died during his birth and I really just don't want him to get lost in the system. He's so smart, Diane, but he's scared to death of everythin'. He needs a real, safe, kind home," Jack rambled.

"And you want to foster him," Diane finished.

"Yeah…wait how did you know?" Jack asked in amazement.

"Because I know you. I wouldn't want some little boy to get lost in the system either. Doing what I do, I see firsthand what happens to some children. Since tomorrow's Saturday, Riley and I will be wherever you are around noon. Just text me the address and we'll be there," she said.

"You're an amazing woman," Jack sighed.

"I know. Are you just going to stay there the night or what?" she asked.

"I'm gonna stay the night here in the hospital. I don't want to leave the little guy here by himself," Jack explained.

"That's sweet. Alright we'll see you tomorrow. I love you," Diane said.

"I love you too and tell Ri I love her for me," Jack said.

"I will. Bye."

Jack hung up the phone and almost immediately made another call, "Hi Matty, I need you to call social services and tell them to be here tomorrow afternoon. Diane and Riley are comin' down here and we need to talk to them about somethin' important.


	4. Meetings

_Previously:_

_Jack hung up the phone and almost immediately made another call, "Hi Matty, I need you to call Social Services and tell them to be here tomorrow afternoon. Diane and Riley are comin' down here and we need to talk to them about somethin' important."_

0000

**CIA Interrogation Room, Los Angeles, California**

"I have a confession to make!" James MacGyver called from the interrogation room where he had taken up residence for the past day. Matty, Reyes, and Cooper had been taking turns asking him questions, but he wouldn't budge.

"I would appreciate it if you listened to it! I'm sure you are as curious to hear it as I am anxious to tell!"

Darius grumbled some unholy words under his breath and turned towards the door. "This ought of be good," he grumbled.

Cooper entered the room while Reyes and Matty stayed behind to watch from the one-way mirror. MacGyver grinned upon Darius' entry. "It's about time someone came in. I've had something to tell you for the past two hours."

"Tell me then, MacGyver, because so help me if this is some phony plea for attention- "

Cooper was cut off by James making a tsk, tsk, noise with his mouth. He gave a cocky grin in Cooper's direction, "Now Agent Cooper, you and I both know that whatever threat you were about to make, you can't go through with it. It's against your little codes here at the CIA. You can threaten me all you want, but there is absolutely nothing you can do to carry through with it."

Anger flared inside of Cooper. This had to be the cockiest bomber they had ever interrogated. In all honesty, Cooper's fist would have been deep in James' face if that wouldn't put him out of a job. As it was, he slammed his hands down on the interrogation table and growled, "Tell me your "confession" now!"

"I hit a nerve. Well, I do really have something to tell you. You see, I lied about not knowing who the boy in that room is. He is my son, but please hear me out. I'm a lawyer. It probably doesn't say that in any files, because I'm a low radar type, but I really am. Some of my clients got quite heated lately and took their anger with me out on my son. They kidnapped him and told me that they had federal agents under their command. So, when I heard from some of my contacts that you guys were coming, I was in fear for my son's safety. I hid him in the old root cellar in our backyard in order to keep him safe," MacGyver explained. His face conveyed nothing but genuine concern for the boy.

"Oh really? Then, might I ask, how did your son end up hurt and dirty and why did you lie to begin with?" Darius asked with barely controlled rage. He obviously knew that this guy was lying, but right then, he had no proof.

"The people that kidnapped him the first time put him in the state that he is and as for lying, why I was still trying to protect my son. He's all I've got, and I would be devastated if anything happened to him," James said somberly. He seemed to actually be upset at the thought of anything happening to Mac.

"Why didn't you at least give him a bath and clean up his wounds? If this alleged kidnapping even took place only a few days ago, that would still leave enough time to get him cleaned up," Darius asked.

"He's terrified of everything. He wouldn't even let me come near him to clean him up or anything. Even when I tried to feed him, he refused to eat. I didn't have a choice but to leave him the way he was because he screamed bloody murder anytime I even came near him," James replied. Darius didn't even say anything as he turned around and marched back out the interrogation room door. The reason that Mac screamed bloody murder anytime James came near him was because he was terrified of the man without a doubt.

Outside, he was met by Matty and Amber. They both seemed to be barely controlling their rage. "Obviously he's still lying," Darius and Amber snapped at the same time, turning towards Matty for conformation.

Matty nodded, "Obviously. But that doesn't mean we can lock him up. We don't have any proof, none that would hold up in court anyway. Bochen, Lithes, and Landers are still working, but it's highly unlikely that they'll find anything. We can only hold him for 48 hours without a viable reason, and if we don't have any proof by then, he goes free."

**Hospital, Mission City, California**

Jack sat patiently in the waiting room of the hospital. He had come down here to meet Diane and Riley who were supposed to arrive any moment. Nurse Abbott had taken Mac to get another bath (much to the toddler's dismay); he seriously needed one after the tomato soup he had eaten for lunch ended up more on him than in his mouth which resulted in Jack once again having to spoon feed him. In the meantime, Jack was waiting for his family.

When Mac had come back from his MRI screening the night before, he had almost immediately passed out with exhaustion. The scan had come back all clear which was a relief to Jack, but he still seethed every time he heard one of Mac's raspy breaths. He knew that the small boy was uncomfortable, but there was nothing he could do about it.

He looked up as the sliding entrance doors opened. He saw Diane with Riley holding her hand and skipping along beside her coming through the doors. He smiled and stood up. Riley let go of her mom's hand and ran towards Jack. "Daddy!"

Jack swept her up in his arms and kissed her forehead. "Hi, sweetie! How are you?"

"I'm good," she sang and flung her arms around his neck, "I missed you!"

"I missed you too, Pumpkin, but I'm sure you had lots of fun with mommy. There's someone I want you guys to meet, so let me talk to mommy for a minute," Jack said cheerfully. He patted Riley's head of black curls and set her on the ground. She plopped down in a chair and took Diane's phone from her grasp. Jack wrapped his arms around Diane, and she kissed him gently.

"I missed you, baby," Jack sighed, and she laughed.

"Riley and I didn't make the two hour drive up here to see you. I can do that anytime I want. We want to meet Mac," she said with a smile.

Jack feigned offense. "I see where I stand on your list of priorities. What did you tell Riley?"

"First of all, you are so low on my list compared to an adorable toddler that I can't even see you from the top. Second, I told Riley the truth. I told her that we were coming to meet a little boy who mommy and daddy were thinking about looking after. She is a very smart girl, Jack. She understands," Diane said quietly.

"Just like her momma," he said playfully.

Diane smacked him on the chest, "Her momma doesn't like being buttered up. Now, take us to this little cutey."

Riley bounced up, returned the phone to her mother, and took Jack's hand. He led them pat the front desk and on to the elevator. "I'm just gonna warn ya that he's probably gonna be scared at first. He doesn't trust new people, so it might take him a while to get used to you. He might not be in the room when we get there either. His nurse took him to get a bath about twenty minutes ago after we had a little lunch mishap."

Diane nodded in response, but Riley seemed to ignore him and kept bouncing on her toes with excitement. The trio got out on Mac's floor and Jack led the way to his room, Room 304. Quietly, Jack peered around the corner of the doorway. Surprisingly, Mac was already back from his bath and all hooked up to his equipment again. His big blue eyes were gazing up at the little TV, a bright cartoon playing on it. Nurse Abbott was sitting on the edge of the bed clearly waiting for Jack to come back.

"Hi, buddy, I see they got you all cleaned up," he said gently. Nurse Abbott smiled at his appearance and told Mac goodbye. She got up and walked past Jack, nodding in greeting to Riley and Diane, and walking down the hall.

"Mac, there's some people I want you to meet. They're my family, so they're nice. They're not gonna hurt you, bud, I promise," he said softly.

When Mac had realized that Jack was back, his face had lit up but immediately fell at the prospect of meeting new people. He looked down at the bed as his hands began to nervously twist in the material. His small lip trembled, but surprisingly, he didn't start to cry so Jack took that as a plus. Jack waved Diane and Riley in before going over to comfortingly rub Mac's too-thin back.

Mac made the mistake of glancing up at Diane. He immediately dropped his gaze and began to tremble violently as tears slipped down his pale cheeks. He made a pitiful noise of distress and tried to get as far away from both Jack and Diane as the small bed would allow. He began to sob which caused his breaths to become even more raspy than they were before. Diane wisely kept her distance, but she wanted to cry at the sight of the terrified little boy. Instinctually she just wanted to go over and wrap him in her arms, but she knew that would make the situation worse in this particular case.

Jack tried to reach out for the small boy, but he gave a cry of fear and buried his face in his pillow. Jack looked at Diane for help, but she couldn't offer any. But, they had both completely forgotten that Riley was also in the room. Seemingly unfazed by the anguished toddler, she bounced up to him. Diane tried to keep her back, but she pushed on.

"Hi Mac, I'm Riley," she said brightly. The bedsheets shifted as Mac peeked out from his hiding spot in the pillows. He sniffled as he gazed apprehensively at Riley. She looked up at the small TV that was still quietly playing in the background.

"PAW Patrol! I love that show! My favorite's Marshall. He's so clumsy and funny! Who's your favorite?" she babbled, but Mac didn't seem to have any trouble keeping up. He actually brought his head up from his pillows and gave her a curious look.

"Wocky," he whispered.

"Rocky's cool!" Riley exclaimed, "Why do you like Rocky?"

"Pwotects the eniwirment," he answered, now becoming more animated.

"Do you mind if I watch it with you?" she asked excitedly.

The small boy seemed to contemplate this for a moment before he scooched back over towards Jack and allowed Riley to crawl up on the bed beside of him. Jack and Diane watched the entire exchange in awe as their seven-year-old daughter did what no adult besides Jack had been able to do yet, and Mac clearly didn't even trust him 100% yet.

Diane took this opportunity to approach the small boy. She knelt down as to be closer to height level and gave him a warm smile. "My name is Diane, sweetie."

Mac once again coward back against his pillow, but this time Riley came to his aid. "It's okay, Mac, that's my mommy. She's super nice, I promise. Ooh," she exclaimed suddenly, "and she makes the BEST pancakes!"

"Pan'ake?" he asked.

"Yeah, they're fluffy and buttery and goldeny brown. They're simply del…delis..dlisi…deliso?" she explained, fumbling over the last word. "Mommy, what was that Spanish word you told me?"

"Delicioso," Mac muttered absentmindedly. Riley had gone back to watching the TV, but Diane and Jack stared in amazement as the boy said the foreign word without hesitation. He looked up upon realizing that they were staring at him and whimpered softly. "I…I sowy. Pwease no huwt."

"Oh, honey, that's alright. We would never ever hit you; we were just a little surprised, that's all. Can you say anything else?" she asked gently, her heart shattering into a million pieces for this sweet little boy.

"Hueles a canela," he said in a voice barely above whisper. Diane reached laughed softly in both amusement and astonishment. There was no way that she had just heard a two-year-old speak perfect Spanish.

"Y hueles a sopa de tomate y champu para bebes," she said quietly to which the toddler giggled. Jack watched as his wife and daughter interacted with the small boy, a huge grin on his face the entire time. He knew they would all get along, even if it took some time.

"Where did you learn how to speak Spanish?" Diane asked.

"Daddy 'ave wots of pweople who 'peak it over. I yisten," he said.

It seemed it that Diane was about to say more, but just then a woman appeared in the doorway. She wore a smart skirt suit and her bleach blond hair was pinned tightly on the back of her head. She had a satchel over her shoulder that seemed to be loaded with documents.

"Mr. and Mrs. Dalton? Can I speak to you?" the woman asked. Jack nodded and rose. Diane kissed Riley's head and whispered something about keeping an eye on Mac before she followed. The woman led them down the hall, but the pair hung back.

"So, what'd you think?" Jack asked her as soon as they were out of the room.

"Jack, I love him. He is such a little darling. And by the way, you didn't tell me he was so smart! That poor sweetheart needs a good home," she answered without hesitation.

The woman led them into a small office room where she took a seat on one side of the desk. Jack and Diane took a seat on the other. She gave the pair a small smile while she pulled files and paperwork out of her satchel. When she was done, she reached across the desk and shook both of their hands.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Dalton, I'm Katie Coldheart, Angus' social worker. I know it's an unfortunate last name, especially for a social worker, but I try to be the opposite of what my name implies. Anyway, we have business to attend to," Katie said.

"So, you were considering fostering Angus," she started, "As of right now, that of course would only be temporary. We do not yet know what the situation with his biological father is or if any other relatives will be located. As it stands, we have a lot to go over. As his guardians, you would receive a monthly pension from the state. All of his healthcare would be paid for, so you only have to provide food, housing and care."

"We're not doing this for the money," Diane explained.

"Of course not, I wasn't implying that you were. I was merely stating that you would receive a pension to offer him care. I, of course, have reviewed both of your incomes. You both make over 100,000 dollars a year and are more than financially stable to care for him. You also have a home of your own. If everything goes through, an inspector from Child Protective Services will be sent over to give a full inspection in order to deem it safe," Katie said.

"Where do we sign?" Jack asked excitedly. Katie laughed and went on.

"Thanks to your boss, Mr. Dalton, a lot of the paperwork has already been completed. Upon his release from this facility in a few days, he will return home with you. Right now, though, I do need you guys to fill out a few things."

She handed the pair a stack of paperwork which they immediately set to work on. They filled out all kinds of forms and signed their names about a dozen times each. Seeing as Diane already worked with children and Jack for the government, they both already had fingerprints and background checks done on them. When they had finished the papers about a half hour later, Katie took it and gave them a bright smile.

"Okay. I'll submit these tonight and hopefully have them processed by sometime tomorrow. Until then, have a good evening." They all once again shook hands and exited the room. Jack and Diane headed back towards Mac's room while the social worker headed for the exit.

When they entered the room, they were met by an adorable sight. Riley and Mac were both sound asleep, the latter sucking his thumb, and PAW Patrol still playing quietly in the background. Both adults smiled affectionately as Diane went over and gently shook Riley awake. Groggily the little girl opened her eyes.

"Come on honey, it's time to go home. You can sleep in the car."

Riley nodded sleepily and carefully slid out of the bed trying to keep from waking Mac up. The little boy did stir the slightest bit but didn't wake. Diane, Riley, and Jack exchanged affectionate goodbyes and Diane bent down to plant a gentle kiss to Mac's forehead. The uncomfortable wrinkles in the toddler's forehead seemed to smooth out at the motherly touch.

"Bye Mac," Riley whispered.

0000

Diane glanced in the rearview mirror to see Riley wide awake. She decided to take the opportunity to talk to her.

"So, honey, how would you feel about Mac coming to live with us for a while?" she asked carefully.

"Really? I would love it!" Riley squealed. Diane smiled in spite of herself.

"Okay. Nothing's definite, but it could be a real possibility. But I think we need to prepare. How od you feel about shopping tomorrow?"

"That's a great idea!" Riley exclaimed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was a few things in this chapter that I'm not exactly sure is true or not. First, I don't know about the 48-hour holding thing. Next, anything legal in this tory probably won't be that accurate because I have no experience with it. For the purpose of this story, Mac has the auditory version of a photographic memory. That's why he can speak Spanish at such a young age.  
> This is what Diane and Mac said:  
> "You smell like cinnamon."  
> "And you smell like tomato soup and baby shampoo."


	5. Home

_Previously:_

_"Okay. Nothing's definite, but it could be a real possibility. But I think we need to prepare. How do you feel about shopping tomorrow?"_

_"That's a great idea!" Riley exclaimed._

0000

**CIA Headquarters, Los Angeles, California**

Matty stood with her arms crossed, glaring at James MacGyver. Cooper, Reyes, Bochen, and Lithes stood around her with similar expressions of hatred and disgust.

They had searched MacGyver's history for any dirt on him along with searching every nook and cranny of his house. None of them could get him to admit to anything except the old "Angus got kidnapped" story. Of course, none of them believed him, but unfortunately, intuition didn't hold up as viable evidence in a court of law. Once one of MacGyver's "lawyer friends" had shown up and told him not to say another word, they didn't stand a chance.

The CIA's 48 hour holding period had run out a half hour ago along with their search warrants on the man's house. Now, they were watching him receive his belongings and prepare to walk out the front doors with no charges pinned to him. For all they knew, he was going to go back to his old house and one hundred more people would be killed by another one of his bombs by next week.

The only thing that comforted Matty in the midst of all of this was the fact that the paperwork had gone through for Jack and Diane to temporarily foster Mac. The word temporarily didn't satisfy her, but it gave her some meager comfort because she would risk her job as director of the CIA before she let that little boy go back to his father just so he could be abused again. Right now, the boy was young enough that the wounds would heal, and he would eventually forget most of this, but who knows how he would be even a year from now if he had to go back to his father.

The only thing they could do was ask that Mac some questions. He was the only witness to his father's crimes and therefore the only person in the world who could provide evidence to lock him away for good. The problem was, the toddler was currently terrified to even think about his father and from what Jack had told her, he hated meeting new people. That was definitely going to make asking him questions difficult.

James smirked at her as he made his way to the towards the door. "Thank you, Matilda, for this enlightening experience."

"Just because you're going free, doesn't mean this is over. This is _far_ from over," Matty growled.

"I couldn't agree more," MacGyver said with amusement in his voice. It almost sounded like he was excited to keep this case going and get under their skin. His lawyer put a hand on his shoulder and guided the bomber and child abuser out into freedom.

**Hospital, Mission City, California, A Few Days Later**

It had been a week today since Mac had been admitted to the hospital and now, he was finally allowed to go home. Jack knew that a week was a bit of overkill, but since he was so young and had gone through so much, the hospital wanted to keep him a little longer just to be safe. Even so, the toddler was still a little tender in the rib area from his healing bruises. Not only that, but Jack and Diane hadn't been approved to foster Mac until last night and he hadn't had anywhere to go until then. The only reason that the approval had gone through so fast in the first place was because Matty had used her contacts to expedite the paperwork and they had to do it as an emergency placement. It didn't matter to Jack though because the little boy was going home with him.

The team had all been shocked when he had told them about fostering the boy, but then ecstatic. Especially Casey, who had practically squealed with joy at the prospect of meeting the toddler. Once Diane and Riley had visited a few days ago, they, along with the team, had done all kinds of shopping. Now, the guest room in their house was now a little boy's dream. Diane was supposed to be there any minute to take the boy home. Riley had wanted to come too, but it was actually her last day of first grade before summer break so they wouldn't let her miss it.

He knew that this was going to be a big step for Mac, but he was hoping that the boy wouldn't have too much trouble adjusting. He had carefully told Mac last night that he was going to be coming home with him today. The pure joy in the boy's face and eyes at this reveal had both broken Jack's heart and made it swell three sizes.

Jack glanced down at the little boy. Nurse Abbott had come in to disconnect him from all of his equipment, give Jack his discharge papers, and give him a teary-eyed goodbye. He now sat in his little white hospital gown, watching the TV that he was so amazed by, and waiting for Diane to show up and bring him a change of clothes.

Mac's eyes were as big as quarters as he took in the colorful pixels on the TV. Jack had asked him a few days ago why he looked at the TV like it was the best thing since sliced bread (his exact words) and he had answered with the dreaded "I nevwer see it befor'. Daddy says onee good boys wach TV." However much it made Jack's blood boil, it was sadly expected.

Jack looked up as Diane knocked on the doorframe of the hospital room and came in clutching a diaper bag. Mac jumped in fear at the knocking noise and began to shake until he looked up and seemed to recognize Diane. She gave him a big smile which he returned with a shy one of his own.

"Good morning, sweetie. Are you ready to go home?" she asked quietly.

"Wif you?" Mac asked cautiously.

"With us," Diane confirmed. She walked over to the bed and set the bag down on it. After a few moments of rifling through it, she finally produced a plain, baby blue t-shirt, khaki shorts, and a little pair of blue Velcro tennis shoes. She also pulled a diaper, a Pull-Up, and a pair of underpants out of the bag. She looked at Mac and asked, "Which one do you wear? I wasn't sure so I got all three."

The little boy cocked his head. Daddy had made him become potty trained a few months ago and made him wear underwear. Daddy got really mad when he had accidents, but sometimes when he got scared or had a nightmare, he couldn't help it. He looked at Diane and knew she was waiting for a decision, but he didn't even know what the one in the middle was. He wanted to choose the underpants, but he didn't want to have an accident and upset them. On the other hand, if he chose the diaper, they would be mad at him for not being able to use the potty. Here at the hospital, they made him wear diapers because it was easier for them to just change him rather than clean up accidents. As the realization that he couldn't choose hit him, tears of fear began to well up in his eyes. He had to choose, or they would be mad about that too and then they would finally hit him!

Diane noticed the tears and she quickly took all three options away. Kneeling in front of Mac, she gently brushed her hand against his cheek. He coward away from the touch and began to whimper.

Jack came over and sat on the bad beside him. "Why are you cryin' bud?" he asked while his heartstrings were being shredded to pieces.

Mac gazed up at Jack through watery eyes and stuttered, "I not awoud to wear diapers pecause d-daddy says dat diapers make me w-weak. Sometimes I have assidents d-dough and daddy gets m-mad. I-I don't know wut the oder one is."

"Oh, baby," Diane said softly, "You don't have to wear underpants if you're not ready. You're not that old, sweetie, and it's okay if you still want to wear diapers. We don't mind accidents either. They're not your fault; that's why they're called accidents. But I think you would like the one in the middle. They're called Pull-Ups and they're perfect for you because they're right in between diapers and underpants. Why don't you try them?" She picked up the Pull-Up with Lightning McQueen on the front and handed it, along with everything but Mac's socks and shoes, to Jack.

"Come on, Trooper, let's get you all ready to go," Jack said gently, "Can I pick you up?"

Mac nodded hesitantly and reached his arms up towards Jack and made a grabbing motion with his tiny hands. Jack chuckled and swooped him up into his arms. The pair disappeared into the bathroom and emerged a few minutes later with a very handsome looking toddler in his new clothes.

"Well don't you look handsome?" Diane gasped. Mac's cheeks turned red and he looked sheepish as he buried his face in Jack's neck. He was placed on the bed and Diane bent down to put his socks and shoes on. He watched her curiously until she was finished and reached into her bag one more time. She pulled out a bright yellow and brown stuffed giraffe and held it out to Mac.

"Here," she said, "This is yours. It's a gift from some nice people that Jack works with." Mac stared at the stuffed animal for a second, mouth hanging open in shock. He had never had something so nice and perfect and soft looking in his entire life. Tentatively, he reached out and took the animal from her grasp. After a second of fearful glancing at the adults, awaiting his punishment for being greedy, he buried his face in the giraffe's fuzzy neck.

Diane and Jack shared a smile at the sight of the little boy and his new-found stuffed animal. The boy sighed with pleasure and glanced up with big, innocent eyes.

"Do you like it?" Diane asked him.

He nodded his head shyly. "It's pwerfect," Mac whispered, "I've nevwer had a twoy befor'." Jakc's heart shattered once again. What two-year-old didn't have toys? He vowed right then that he would buy Mac any toy he ever wanted.

"Well you can have all the toys ya want now. You deserve them as much as any other little boy," Jack said, running a hand through his soft golden locks, "Probably more."

"Weally?" Mac asked in wonder.

"Really," Diane and Jack said firmly at the same time.

"What do you say we go home?" Diane asked Mac.

Mac didn't get to answer before Jack had swung him into the air and held him in his arms. Mac squeaked in fear at first and then relaxed into Jack's hold, giraffe and all. The three of them made their way through the hallways, Mac hiding his face anytime he saw someone new. The group got more than a few soft, caring smiles and awws at the sight of Mac and Jack couldn't be prouder.

When they got to the car that Diane had brought, Jack opened the backseat to see not only Riley's booster seat, but also a toddler car seat. Jack gently placed him in the seat and began to buckle him in with the numerous straps. Mac looked up at him with betrayal in his eyes as he began shiver with raw fear. Jack immediately kicked himself as he realized that Mac thought he was tying him down, which his father had no doubt done.

"Hey, bud, it's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you, I promise. These are just to keep you safe. I promise that we'll get you unbuckled as soon as we get home, kay? Until then, this little guy will keep you company," Jack said gently, handing the giraffe to Mac who hugged it tight. He continued to shake with anxiety, but he didn't have the look of pure terror in his eyes anymore.

Mac looked up a Jack. "D-did you know dat more dan fifteen fousand people are s-saved by sweet bwelts each 'ear?" he stuttered.

Jack smiled at him. "How am I not surprised that you know that?" He shut the door and walked around to the driver's side. Right before he turned the engine on, he turned in his seat to face Mac. "It's gonna make a loud noise when it starts up, but I promise you'll be alright. Nothing is gonna hurt you." Mac nodded meekly. Jack turned the key in the ignition. Mac whimpered and tried to curl in on himself but ended up just clutching his giraffe tighter. Jack sighed. This was going to be a long ride home.

0000

A little over two hours later, they pulled into the driveway. The drive had been surprisingly uneventful except for the few times they went over a particular rough spot and got a tiny sob from Mac in response. Other than the fact that the giraffe practically got strangled to death the entire ride, everything went well.

Jack got Mac unbuckled, much to the little boy's relief, and followed Diane into the house. Mac stared in amazement at the nice house and compared it to his old shabby house. Diane turned to him. "Would you like to see your room sweetie?" she asked him.

Mac's little mouth dropped open. "I have my own woom?" he asked in amazement. Diane shot a look at Jack over Mac's head, but Jack shook his head telling her not to question it right then.

"Of course, you have your own room!" Diane exclaimed putting extra excitement in her voice. Jack carried Mac up the stairs and towards his new room. When he opened the door, Mac took in a gasp of surprise.

The walls were a light blue color with matching blue curtains. A wooden toddler bed with rails like a crib sat against the wall with a rocket and planet print bedspread set. The ceiling above the bed was plastered with glow-in-the dark stars while the floor had a circular rug with a constellation print. A wooden dresser sat along the opposite wall, a matching nightstand with a rocket ship lamp was beside the bed, and a bookshelf with dozens and dozens of books sat beside the dresser. A Paw Patrol nightlight was plugged into one of the outlets. In one corner, a wooden train set was set up while buckets of Lincoln Logs and Legos sat opposite of it and beside the closet. Shelves lined the walls holding everything from toy trucks, cars, boats, and planes. A cubby-like shelf housed all kinds of art supplies, from coloring books to crayons and markers.

Jack set Mac on the ground, but he just stood there, the giraffe clutched limply in his hand and a look of utter shock on his face. Jack knelt beside him and put his hand lightly on the boy's back. "Do you like it?" he asked quietly. Mac nodded slightly, but stood, confused, in the entrance of the room.

"Why don't you go play?" Diane asked quietly.

Mac whipped his head up at her. "My twoys!?" he asked in complete confusion.

"Your toys, buddy," Jack whispered in a sad tone.

Mac hesitantly toddled over to the train set, dragging the poor giraffe across the ground the entire time, and gently ran his small fingers over the tracks. He glanced back at Jack and Diane who gave him an encouraging nod. The adults watched as Mac clumsily plopped down in the middle of the set and began to slowly move a train around the track, making quiet engine noises the entire time.

"We're going to go ahead and let you play," Diane said, "Is that okay?"

Mac didn't respond, however, for it was the first time he had ever played with a toy and he was so absorbed in it that their voices didn't even register. The pair quietly left the room and headed downstairs.

Just as they got to the bottom, the door slammed shut with no doubt excitement behind the force. Riley bounded into the living room, dropping her Wonder Woman backpack in the middle of the floor on her way in.

"Is he here!?" she squealed with excitement.

"He is, but I think you should let him go for-" Diane began but was cut off by Riley shooting past her and up the stairs. Diane sighed and looked at Jack, but they both burst out laughing as they heard a squeal of, "Hi Mac! Whatcha doing?" and the bedroom door slamming shut.

Diane bent down to pick up the fallen backpack. "I better go start on dinner," she said as she brushed past Jack.

0000

Later on, Jack walked into the kitchen with Mac in his arms as Diane set hamburgers and French fries on the table. Riley was already sitting in her seat, legs swinging with anticipation under the table. Jack placed Mac in the new highchair and buckled him in, whispering "You're okay. No one's gonna hurt you" the whole time. Diane set a plate with a hamburger patty cut up into bite size pieces and a few small French fries in front of him. She then placed a sippy cup full of apple juice on the highchair tray to go with it.

Everyone sat down and began eating, Riley babbling about her last day of school and the adults adding their input every now and then. Jack looked over at Mac to make sure he was doing okay and found the plate untouched. Diane shot him a curious look but kept quiet.

"Hey Mac, bud, why aren't ya eatin'?" Jack asked him softly. Mac kept his eyes trained on his tray as he mumbled, "I not 'posed to eat befor' evweyone else is done."

"Honey," Diane started, "We eat differently. Everyone eats together here, so you can start eating when everyone else does. Now, why don't you try some of your dinner?"

Jack reached over and picked up the toddler fork, stabbing a piece of meat, and guiding it towards Mac's mouth. Mac obeyed and opened his mouth, chewing slowly.

"Is it good?" Diane asked hopefully.

"Nummy!" Mac said, excitedly bouncing his legs against the highchair.

Jack fed him a few more bites until he began to protest about being able to feed himself at which point everyone began to eat again. At the end of dinner, Mac sat in his highchair, sipping his apple juice, and warily watching Jack and Diane clean up. Riley had run off as soon as dinner was over to go get a shower.

Mac couldn't hold back a small yawn as he scrubbed at his droopy eyes. Jack saw this and smiled. He walked over to Mac and began to unbuckle him from his highchair; Mac, for once, wasn't even relieved or concerned about it as he once again rubbed his eyes.

"Since you got a bath this mornin', I'll let it slide tonight, but usually you get a bath before you go to bed. Come on, we'll get you in your PJs and then into bed," Jack said as he lifted Mac out of the chair. Jack carried him upstairs and into his room where he put the rail on the bed down and stood Mac on it. After a few minutes of searching in Mac's dresser drawers, he pulled out a pair of yellow pajamas that had cartoon puppies on them. He carefully took Mac's clothes off and changed him into a new Pull-Up. Jack had to bite the inside of his cheek in order to stop from screaming in anger at the sight of the faint yellow bruises that still littered Mac's small torso.

Mac gave another yawn as Jack pulled the covers up to Mac's chin and tucked his giraffe in with him. His small hand wrapped around the giraffe's neck as Jack bent down and gently kissed Mac's forehead.

"Goodnight, Little Buckaroo," he whispered.

0000

Everyone slept soundly until about 3 o'clock that morning.

A terrified cry ripped through the house. Jack and Diane both shot up out of bed and flew down the hall to the newly converted toddler room. They opened the door to see Mac sitting up in bed, sobbing desperately, tears rolling down his cheeks, and shaking racking his entire frame. Diane rushed over and pulled the rail down. She sat on the bed while Jack knelt beside it.

"What's wrong, baby boy?" Diane asked softly.

"N-nightm-mware!" he choked out, "D-daddy g-get me!"

Diane wrapped her arms around the small body, and to her surprise, Mac flung himself into her embrace. "Momma," he whimpered into her pajama top. Diane's heart swelled at this declaration as she gently began to rock the boy back and forth.

"We're never gonna let him get you," Jack said firmly, a new fire behind his eyes. It was bad enough that James had destroyed Mac's life during the day, but he was even terrorizing him in his sleep. Diane began to sing a soft lullaby to the distraught toddler until she felt him relax against her. When she glanced down, she found that Mac was sound asleep, the giraffe clutched in his tiny grip.


	6. Friends, Enemies, And The Park

_Previously:_

_"We're never gonna let him get you," Jack said firmly, a new fire behind his eyes. It was bad enough that James had destroyed Mac's life during the day, but he was even terrorizing him in his sleep. Diane began to sing a soft lullaby to the distraught toddler until she felt him relax against her. When she glanced down, she found that Mac was sound asleep, the giraffe clutched in his tiny grip._

0000

A week later, things had started to improve. Jack and Diane were both on leave for a few weeks in order to get Mac situated at home before he had to handle a babysitter. He was still hesitant and constantly afraid that he was going to mess up and get hit, but Riley had managed to play with him on multiple occasions.

On the seventh morning that Mac had been there, he woke up to two unfamiliar smells. Neither were unpleasant, actually both made his stomach growl. The first one smelled slightly sweet, almost like vanilla and maybe even cinnamon. The other one was the most amazing smell Mac had ever smelled in his two whole years. It was smoky and savory and he could hear the faint sound of grease sizzling.

Mac scrubbed at his eyes and pulled himself into a sitting position. He glared at the rail that confined him to his bed. He really didn't like it; it made him feel trapped. He really wanted out, but just as he was about to cry for Jack or momma, he snapped his mouth shut. His daddy didn't like it when he made noise, so surely these people didn't either. Even so, they hadn't hit him yet, so did that make them nice?

Those thoughts were all too confusing. If he had learned anything from his daddy, it was that little kids like him were nuisances and had to figure out how to do things on their own.

With new determination, Mac stood up on his mattress and waited until his wobbly legs gained their balance. He then flung his giraffe over the side and watched it land in the middle of the floor below. He reached up and gripped the rail, stepping on the edge of it with his pajama-clad feet. He pulled himself up with all of his strength until he was dangling haphazardly in the air, the rail digging painfully into his tender chest. He hadn't exactly thought this far ahead though, because as he reached for a rail farther down to pull him all the way over, he slid the rest of the way and tumbled on to the ground.

He sat for a moment, stunned, and then to his own surprise, he began to giggle. That had been fun! He reached for his giraffe as laughs consumed his whole body. They immediately ceased though, when his bedroom door flew open.

"Mac!" Jack cried rushing into the room. Mac whimpered and scooched as far back as he could until his back met the wall. He had learned that it made punishments easier when no one could sneak up behind him.

"I-I," Mac started to defend himself, but he couldn't get anything out in his fear. He knew that he had finally screwed up this time and he was SO done for. All he managed to do was quiver and cry in misery.

Jack mentally kicked himself. Even though things had started to improve over the last week, Mac was still terrified that they were going to break down and hit him. "Mac, buddy, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare ya," Jack started out, "We heard a loud thump downstairs and I came to make sure you were okay. Are you hurt?"

Mac froze. Sometimes his daddy would pretend to be worried that he was hurt, but when he said he was, his daddy would just hit him some more. He wasn't sure if these people were nice or being sincere yet, but he couldn't take any chances. He trusted his momma because he had never had a momma, so there was no evidence for him to put against mommas that they hurt little kids. He liked Jack a lot, but he was still worried that he would hit him.

"Mac, I'm gonna hurt ya, not ever. I just want to make sure you're okay. Can you tell me if you're hurt?" Jack said quietly, squatting down so he was closer to Mac's level.

"I not hwurt," Mac whispered, gazing away from Jack. Tears began to trickle down his face.

"Aww, come here, bud," Jack sighed.

Mac stared at him for a moment, those terrified, intelligent, baby blue eyes penetrating Jack's heart the way they had when he had first seen them in that room. After a moment of contemplation, Mac all but flung himself at Jack. Jack was forced to rock back on his butt from the force of the impact as he clutched the toddler in his arms.

"I-I sowy," he stuttered. Jack rubbed soothing circles on to the boy's back until he heard his sobs decrease to small hiccups.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. I was just worried about ya, that's all. Did you try to get out of your bed on your own? Is that how you ended up on the floor?" Jack questioned as softly as he could.

"I sowy," Mac muttered again.

"It's okay; I'm not mad, but please don't do that. You could really hurt yourself. If you want out, just yell for me or momma and we'll come and get you out. Now, what do ya say we go get some pancakes and bacon?" Jack explained, poking Mac's too-skinny belly playfully on the last statement. The toddler giggled in response and wrapped his arms around Jack's neck to be taken downstairs.

Jack carried him all the way to his highchair where he buckled him in. They had come to some sort of silent agreement over the past week that if Jack buckled Mac in as fast as he could, he wouldn't protest. Still, Jack felt guilty whenever he felt the way Mac tensed up with anxiety at the prospect of being tied down, even if it was for his own safety.

When he was all situated, Mac found himself with a plate of brand-new foods. In his sippy cup was chocolate milk, his discovered favorite, but the food was mysterious. He looked up for help but found that everyone else was busy eating. He quietly watched Riley scarf down the golden-brown discs and the delicious-smelling strips. She had poured syrup over the top of the discs, but Mac's discs were cut into tiny pieces and only had small amounts of syrup. He also found that there were no strips on his plate, although disappointed, he wasn't about to complain.

Diane noticed his confused looks. "It's okay to eat those, sweetie. They're called pancakes and they're super yummy. Sorry you can't have any bacon, but it's a little crunchy and we don't want you to choke," she explained.

Pancakes? Mac remembered Riley saying something about momma's pancakes in the hospital. She had said they were delicious, so if she thought so, it must be true. Mac was still trying to get used to having things explained to him. He usually either had to know or got hit; there was generally not an in between. But here, it seemed that they thought it was perfectly normal to have to explain things to him.

Tentatively, Mac took a bite of the pancakes. The sweet, fluffy taste filled his mouth and he couldn't help but hum with satisfaction. He clumsily at the rest of his portion and by the time he was done, the sticky substance was smeared all over his face and fingers.

Diane laughed at the sight of him. "Let's get you cleaned up, mister," she teased as she lifted him from his highchair and began to wipe his hands and face with a cloth. Riley ran up beside them and tossed her plate into the sink with a clatter. As she was about to dash back up the stairs to get dressed, Jack sighed dramatically.

"I had an idea, but if you're just gonna run on upstairs then maybe I shouldn't tell ya," he said casually. Riley's eyes widened as she ran over and jumped into her father's lap, throwing her arms around his neck in the process. "No daddy, tell us," she whined loudly. Jack leaned forward with a smile and kissed her forehead.

"Well, I was just thinkin' that maybe we could go to the park today, but if you don't want to, that's okay," Jack said nonchalantly. Riley looked appalled at the idea of rejecting the park.

"No!" she squealed, "I want to go!"

"Okay, then go get ready!" Jack cried as she bounced off of his lap. "Take Mac with you. I'll be up in a few minutes to get him dressed," Diane yelled after her, setting an unstable Mac on the ground. He wobbled on his legs for a second and then began to slowly toddle over to Riley who met him half-way. Gently, she took his small hand in hers and began to slowly lead him up the stairs. When they were gone, Diane turned to Jack.

"What happened this morning? When you came down here Mac looked like he had been crying. Did he hurt himself somehow?" she pressed.

Jack held up his hands in a signal for Diane to calm down. "He's okay. He tried to get out of his bed by himself and ended up takin' a header. I'm pretty sure I heard him gigglin' his heart out before I opened the door, but he of course got terrified when I did open the door."

"I think we're going to have one scary little man on our hands in a few years," Diane said with a smile. Neither her nor Jack said anything about the prospect of Mac still being there in a few years.

0000

A little over an hour later, the four of them were making their way down the sidewalk, towards the park. Riley was holding Jack's hand as she skipped along, while Diane pushed Mac in his stroller (which was an entire crying ordeal).

When they got to the park, Riley bounded off to where other kids her age were kicking a soccer ball around. Jack followed her and sat on a bench by the area to keep an eye on her. Mac looked up at Diane curiously.

"Looks like it's just you and me, baby," Diane said lightly.

"What do?" Mac asked, gazing around the park and feeling very intimidated.

"Well, we can do whatever you want. This is a place where little kids get to have all kinds of fun. We can go down the slide," Diane offered.

"What dat?" Mac asked, pointing towards the swings.

Diane grinned. "Good choice," she said as she pushed him in that direction. She lifted him into the air and placed him in one of the baby swings. Surprisingly, Mac didn't seem scared, only curious. Diane gave him a gentle push, so he only swung a little bit. Mac froze as he came back down but began to squirm with excitement.

"More! More!" he squealed. Diane gave him a harder push as he squealed with delight and pumped his legs wildly.

Jack watched as Diane pushed Mac in the baby swing and he giggled with joy. Just seeing him laughing and having fun made Jack's heart swell. He was only two but had already been through so much and he deserved so much better.

Jack turned back to Riley as she passed the ball to a blond girl about her age. From what Jack had heard so far, she had a pretty thick Australian accent.

"Sam run!" Riley cried as her team got closer to the makeshift goal. Sam pulled her leg back and sent the ball flying into the goal with the force of a professional soccer player. Everyone on her team began to cheer and high-five each other as they started a new game.

Eventually, a little boy with dark skin slid on to the swing beside Mac. He was a little older, maybe four-years-old, but he gave Mac a friendly smile anyway.

"Hi, I'm Wilt!" he said brightly, "But I don't really like that name, so just call me Bozer, like my last name. Boz is fine too."

"Introduce yourself, sweetie," Diane prodded. She knew this was a good thing. Mac needed to talk to other kids that were closer to his age, and maybe if he did, he might start to come out of his shell and begin to act like any two-year-old should.

"I-I Angus, but you tan tall me Mac, y-yike my last name, MacGyver," Mac squeaked.

"It's nice to meet you Mac. Hey! Do you want to go look for worms under that tree?" Bozer asked, pointing to the tree in question.

Mac looked up nervously at Diane. She nodded encouragingly and lifted him on to her hip. "Tan my momma tome too?" Mac asked nervously.

"Sure!" Bozer cried and raced off towards the tree. Diane carried Mac over and set him down on the ground; Bozer almost immediately began to show Mac how to dig for worms. Soon enough, both boys had slimy, squirming brown worms moving all over their hands.

"Did you know that dere is more dan fouw-fousand fouw hundwed types of wo'ms in the wo'ld?" Mac informed quietly.

Bozer stared at him a moment and Mac began to shy away nervously. He could see that his knew friend thought he was weird for knowing that, just like his daddy said he was for being able to remember anything he heard. He was a freak, his daddy said, and he may have just scared off the only friend he had ever had because of it. But Bozer surprised him by just smiling and saying, "That's neat!"

"Where'd you learn that?" a perky voice asked from above them. Bozer and Diane both jumped, Mac squeaked and scrambled over to Diane who wrapped her arms around him. They looked up to see a girl about Bozer's age who seemed to have an Asian heritage. She was hanging upside down from a tree branch but swung up in order to watch them intently.

"Hey, you guys live next to my family," the girl said, pointing at Mac and Diane, "We just moved in this week and I saw you guys outside a couple of times."

"What's your name, sweetie?" Diane asked the little girl. She looked around but didn't see any adults that could be with the girl. "Are your parents here?"

"My name's Desiree, but everyone calls me Desi. My brother brought me, he's right over there," Desi said pointing to a group of teenagers playing basketball. Diane frowned at the thought of the little girl being all by herself.

"Why don't you come down here and help the boys find worms?" Diane offered. Desi shrugged and jumped down, collapsing to her knees and beginning to dig enthusiastically.

"You never answered me. Where'd you learn that thing about worms?" Desi said, gazing at Mac with dark eyes.

"My daddy," Mac whispered, absentmindedly petting the worm in his small palm.

Jack looked back at the swings but found that neither Mac nor Diane were anywhere to be found. He swiveled his head in search of them and found them sitting under a tree. Jack laughed as he realized that while he had been absorbed with the older kids, Diane had started a sort of toddler play group. Not only was Mac cautiously digging in the dirt for what Jack assumed was worms, but so were a little African American boy and an Asian girl. Jack couldn't help but feel good at the sight of Mac interacting with other kids his age.

Riley and her band of friends had moved on from soccer to the monkey bars and Jack watched as the other kids cheered Riley on.

A pretty woman with dark skin made her way over to the little group of toddlers. She had a small baby in a bundle of blankets in her arms.

"Come on, Wilt. It's almost time for Josh's nap and we need to be home in order to put him down," woman said as she bounced the small baby.

"Mommy this is Mac and Desi," Bozer said.

"Well it's very nice to meet you Mac and Desi. I'm very glad that Wilt made some friends today," Mrs. Bozer said.

Diane stood up and held out her hand. "Hi Mrs. Bozer, I'm Diane Dalton. It's very nice to meet you; your son is very sweet."

"Please, call me Jennifer. Which one is yours?" Jennifer sked, gesturing to the other two toddlers as they all went back to digging. Jennifer was slightly confused, seeing as one child was Asian and the other Caucasian while Diane was dark skinned.

"Mac," Diane said and upon seeing Jennifer's confused look she added, "We're fostering him." Both women exchanged phone numbers seeing as the boys would probably want to play together again some time. When they were finish, Jennifer took Wilt's hand and led him towards the exit.

Not five minutes later, a teenager that looked to be in his late teens came up and led Desi away. Diane turned to Mac who had dirt all over his hands.

"Come on, I have wipes in my bag. Let's go check on Jack and Riley," she said as she picked him up and carried him over to the bench where Jack had taken up residence.

"Hey you two!" Jack called and waved, "Did you have fun?"

"We did," Diane answered as she sat Mac on Jack's lap and began to wipe off his hands.

"Riley, hon, it's time to go home!" Jack called. Immediately, there was a blur of black curls and then Riley was standing in front of them.

"Mac got dirty!" she laughed, and Mac's cheeks lit up with embarrassment.

"Hey, it okay. You were havin' fun and that's all that matters," Jack said as he stood up with Mac in his arms. Jack was about to place Mac back in the stroller when he suddenly stiffened in Jack's arms.

"What's wrong, bud?" Jack asked in concern.

"D-daddy," he whimpered and buried his face in Jack's neck.

"What was that?" Jack whispered, now really starting to worry. He turned his head to look at Mac as best as he could and gently lifted his head up. Mac's face was tear stained while his entire body was shaking violently.

Mac pointed one shaking finger at the tree line before beginning to sob. His small fingers gripped desperately on to Jack's shirt as his breathing began to pick up. He squirmed in Jack's arms as he desperately tried to get away from whatever was at the tree line. Diane stared at Jack with worry as she tried to distract Riley.

"Hey, hey come on, buddy. Calm down. You're okay, I promise," Jack soothed as Mac's breaths became uneven. Sobs were still wracking his small frame as he stuttered out, "D-daddy tome to t-tate me." For the first time, Jack glanced up at the tree line and his blood began to boil. Standing there was none other than James MacGyver, silently watching the scene in front of him.

Jack was torn between concern for Mac and anger at James, but eventually, his concern won out. He sat mac on the bench and knelt in front of him. He cupped Mac's face in his hands and stared into his blown-wide eyes.

"Mac, listen, you need to calm down. I'm not gonna let your dad hurt you, but you need to calm down. Breathe with me. Take a deep breath in and let it out," Jack instructed. Mac began to take in shaky breaths as Jack coached him. "That's it, nice and easy."

As mac began to calm down, Jack ran a hand through his blond locks. "Alright, little man, stay with momma. I'll be back in a few minutes. Why don't you tell momma all of those neat compounds you were tellin' me earlier?"

Jack passed Mac off to Diane as he rose from his spot and stalked over to the lone figure by the trees. James stiffened at his approach. Jack stopped a good distance away from him.

"What are you doin' here?" Jack snapped.

"What? I'm not allowed to come see my son?" James asked with a smile.

"You just stay the hell away from him!" Jack growled through clenched teeth.

"Technically, there is no court order saying that I have to. I have no charges against me so, if we get down to it, there is no need for Angus to be in your care. I'm allowed to see him whenever I want," James retorted.

"You have one minute to get out of here," Jack hissed. James shrugged and turned to leave.

"Oh, and Dalton, you'll be hearing from me very soon," James said ominously before leaving the park.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The part about Mac with his crib was based off of me when I was a baby. I hated my rails so I figured out how to get out on my own. Also, digging worms was one of my favorite pass times a toddler in the Spring and Summer.


	7. A Questionable Letter

_Previously:_

_"You have one minute to get out of here," Jack hissed. James shrugged and turned to leave._

_"Oh, and Dalton, you'll be hearing from me very soon," James said ominously before leaving the park._

0000

The next morning, Mac was sitting in the living room, tongue out, coloring a dinosaur at the coffee table. Riley was laying on her stomach and watching TV, her legs swinging in the air. Jack and Diane sat on the couch, quietly observing their family. Even though Mac had only been living there for a little over a week, he had already been welcomed in and was thought of as just another member of their extensive family. Jack's mama was already nagging at him to bring Mac to Texas so she could meet him. He had told her that Mac wasn't mentally ready for a trip like that, nor was he settled at home yet. What he didn't tell her was the thing that loomed over all of the adults, but they didn't talk about it.

They were only fostering Mac. He wouldn't be there forever.

Although, no other family had been located for Mac to go to, Jack and Diane were still dreading the day the social worker would find a permanent home for him. They had secretly been discussing adopting Mac for good, but that wasn't possible at the moment because of James.

Jack honestly wanted to wring that man's neck. Every single agent at the CIA knew that MacGyver was the bomber and no doubt child abuser, but he had still managed to go free. And now, because of that, Mac couldn't be adopted because James had no charges against him. This meant that he was family for Mac to go back to. Yeah, the day that Jack let that happen would be the same day it was 20 degrees in Texas in July. Never going to happen.

Riley's show ended and she rolled over to look at Jack. "Daddy, I'm bored," she whined.

Jack tried to suppress a smile. When Riley got interested in something, she could spend hours on it, but as soon as she had some free time, she immediately became bored. "Why don't you go and see if the mail's here yet," he offered.

She bounced off of the ground and breezed out the door. They heard a sharp clanging noise as Riley slammed the lid of the mailbox down and the door bang shut as she skipped back into the room. She was looking through the pile of envelopes and reading them off as they came.

"A letter from Aunt Sally, a letter from one of daddy's Army friends, a letter for mommy from her work, I think an envelope from the electric people, and a very serious looking envelope for both of you," Riley said as she sorted the mail. She put the two letters from Sally and Jack's friend on the coffee table, handed the electric bill and the envelope from the pediatrician's office to Diane, and the last letter to Jack.

Jack eyed the envelope suspiciously. It was addressed to them from a law firm that he didn't recognize. Opening it and pulling out the official looking document, his heart thudded to a stop in his chest. The letter was from the lawyer of James MacGyver, the same one that had helped in getting his charges dropped. It was saying that he was ordered by law to attend a court date about three weeks from then to discuss custody of Mac. James was fighting to get Mac back, and as long as there was nothing against him, it was completely legal.

Jack's knuckles turned white as he gripped on to the arm of the couch. He reread the letter, hoping that it would somehow change what it said and tell him that he didn't have to go to court to keep Mac from going back to his father. He almost couldn't believe the audacity James had to be accused of bombings, the murders of over eighty people, and child abuse only two weeks ago, and then go and try to get Mac back into his care.

"What's wrong?" Diane asked, noticing the death grip Jack had on the couch. He wasn't sure that he would be able to answer her without lashing out, so he silently handed her the letter. He watched her eyes travel across the paper as they widened with disbelief.

"Riley, why don't you and Mac go play with his trucks? You haven't gotten to do that yet and I'm sure their loads of fun," Diane said, trying to put enthusiasm behind her words, but failing miserably. If Riley noticed, she didn't display it because she simply helped Mac up and led him upstairs to his room.

"What do we do, Jack?" Diane asked, concern dripping in her voice.

"I can tell you one thing: James is not gonna get Mac. I am not about to let all of the healing he's done in the last two weeks unravel and him get traumatized all over again," Jack said with determination, "You saw for yourself how he reacted to just seeing James. It would destroy him to have to go back."

Diane gazed at him carefully. "Jack, we can't just not go to court. We could get arrested for that."

"I know, but I didn't say we weren't gonna go to court. I simply said that we're not gonna let Mac go back to James. If I have personally stake out this guy's house to prove that he has done something worthy of having charges pressed against him, I will. I WILL NOT let him get Mac," Jack said, slamming his fist down on the coffee table for extra emphasis on the last point. He meant every word he said, they all loved that little boy too much to let him go. If Jack was being honest with himself, Mac was already like his own flesh and blood son; it didn't matter to him that they had just met two weeks ago. That little boy had already changed his life.

Diane glanced down at the hands that were folded in her lap with a grim expression. "What if James gets his way? From what you've said, James has a lot of people in high places, even in the law system. If there is nothing against James, who's to say that he won't win?"

Gently, Jack tilted her chin up to meet his gaze. "Don't talk like that. He's not gonna win; I won't let him. Now, I'm gonna go call Matty and tell her what's going on. We will find something to put against him, I promise. The team won't rest until this guy is locked up for good. Why don't you go play with the kids to take your mind off of this while I make the call?"

Slowly, Diane nodded and rose from the couch. She made her way up the stairs as Jack pulled out his cellphone. Dialing a familiar number, he waited for her to pick up.

As expected, Matty picked up on the first ring. "Webber," she answered in an official voice.

"Matty, it's Jack. We need to talk," Jack answered.

"If you want to talk to me so bad, get to the point Dalton. Don't waste time telling me we need to talk, just start talking," Matty snapped back. To anyone who didn't know her, they would think that she was in a bad mood and that was meant to be a harsh comment, but Jack knew that that was her joking tone.

"We got a letter from James' lawyer. He's takin' me and Diane to court for custody of Mac. Matty, if he wins, do you know what that's gonna do to him? I told you last night how he reacted to seeing James at the park. The man didn't even talk to him and he nearly had a full-blown panic attack. We have to find something on him. Mac is depending on us this time," Jack rambled, his voice slowly rising as he got near the end of the sentence.

"Calm down, Dalton. We're going to do everything we can to keep James away from Mac. As much as I would like to tell you that we have evidence that he did those bombings, we don't. The best thing I can get you right now is evidence that he abused Mac," Matty explained.

Jack grumbled with agitation. "We don't need any more evidence for that! Mac himself is proof enough. You saw the pictures of his injuries and the team saw some of them in person. We have the medical reports to put against him. I just don't understand why you didn't use those in the first place. He wouldn't have gone free then and we wouldn't be in this mess!"

He heard Matty sigh on the other end of the phone. "Jack, you know why I couldn't use the medical reports. MacGyver gave us the whole kidnapping bit and we didn't have anything else to prove it. I know that Mac has only been with you for a week, but we really need to question him. He is the only person in the world who has proof of what his father did."

"Matty, I want evidence against him as much as you, if not more, but are you sure that's a good idea? I'm not sure that he's ready for that. The whole team will have to be there, and he already hates meeting new people as it is. That many people in the room at one time might cause him to shut down instead of giving us any information," Jack said, worried.

The line was silent for a moment as Matty contemplated. "We don't have another option. It's either do it now and get it over with or wait and worry about this for days to come. Either way, he's still going to be scared when he comes in. Of course, we're not going to do it in an interrogation room; we'll do it in the conference room. Let him bring some toys or stuffed animal or something. We'll let him play and get comfortable with everyone and then we'll ask him while he is distracted. I think that is going to get us the best results."

Jack nodded and then realized that she couldn't see him. "Alright, but one sign that Mac is gonna have another meltdown and we're done, okay?"

"Deal," Matty confirmed, "We're all in the office today anyway, so just bring him in sometime in the next few hours. I'll let everyone know that you're coming. They're going to be excited to see Mac in a better state than they saw him at the house, and I haven't even met him yet. Bye, Dalton."

"Bye," Jack answered and hung up the phone. He stood in silence for a second before heading up the stairs. He opened the door to Mac's bedroom and couldn't help but grin at the sight in front of him. Mac was crawling all over the floor, pushing a bright red racecar as fast as his small legs would carry him. Riley was following him with a police car, making siren noises as she bumped into the back of Mac's car. Diane sat off to the side, quietly observing the scene with a smile on her face that matched his.

"Daddy! Mac is going over the speed limit! He won't pull over," Riley cried as she once again fruitlessly tried to pull the racecar over. Mac giggled and rocked back on to his bottom.

"Well, me and Mac have somewhere we gotta go anyway, so I wouldn't worry about pullin' him over, sweetheart," Jack said. Riley pouted at the prospect of playtime being over, but suddenly, her face lit up.

"Mommy, since daddy and Mac are going somewhere, can we finally make the cookies you've been promising?" Riley asked with a hopeful look on her face. Diane smiled back. "I think that's a great idea!" Riley bounced out of the room and Diane was quick to follow, shooting Jack a knowing look on her way past.

Mac gave Jack a curious look once they were gone. "Whewe we go?" he asked with anxiety already beginning to leak through his voice.

"We're gonna go meet some friends," Jack said brightly, knowing that if he gave away anything about the questions that he was going to have a toddler panic attack on his hands.

"Fwiends?" Mac practically whimpered.

Jack knelt in front of the little boy. "Yeah, friends. They're super nice people that aren't gonna hurt ya. I'm gonna be with you the entire time, but all they want to do is talk, okay?"

Mac nodded sadly, making Jack feel immensely guilty. "Hey, Little Buckaroo, don't look like that. You can pick a few toys to bring with us if you want."

Mac got up and ran for the stuffed giraffe that was sitting against the wall. They had discovered that not only was Mac very mentally advanced for his age, but he was also physically advanced. He was able to run with almost perfect balance, although he still toddled rather unsteadily when he was first placed on the floor after being held for a while. On top of that, Mac was unusually stubborn. While he loved to be carried and held by Jack and Diane, he preferred to walk on his own from one place to another.

He gripped his giraffe in one arm and bent over to pick up a lone fire truck with the other. He looked up at Jack as if questioning if he had done the right thing. "Good choices, buddy. Do you want me to carry you, or do you want to walk?"

Not surprisingly, Mac began to make his way to the bedroom door. Smiling, Jack followed the little boy and stayed by his side while he made his way down the stairs. While he was very coordinated for a two-year-old, the stairs were still iffy for him and Jack wanted to be there to catch him in case his crawling/walking strategy failed.

When they finally reached the car, Mac stared at his car seat with a look of disdain. While they had been able to work out the highchair problem, he still absolutely hated the car seat. Jack wasn't sure if he wanted to know what James had done to Mac to cause him to be afraid of anything that was remotely close to being tied down.

Jack gently buckled him in and repeated their usual soothing mantra. Even so, Jack could feel Mac shaking under his hands. When he was finished, he got into the driver's side and started the car. He sighed as he heard the fear-filled cry from the back as the engine started.

0000

Jack glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Mac gazing out his window in amazement. Even though he worked there, Jack had to admit that the CIA headquarters were impressive, so he couldn't imagine what an impressionable toddler thought. The entire place was on almost 100 acres of land and had more than 10 floors at some points, not to mention the amount of basement facilities they had.

Jack pulled into his usual parking space and got Mac out of his car seat. The toddler gripped his truck and his giraffe for dear life as he buried his face in Jack's neck. Jack could feel the tension coiled inside of the little boy's muscles, so he began to rub gentle circles on his stiff back. Jack felt terrible for him; he couldn't imagine how intimidating this place was for someone his size, especially for someone who had gone through what he had at such a young age.

Mac kept his head in place as Jack carried him through the doors. He was almost stopped by security, but with a quick flash of his badge, he was on the move through the hallway again. Knowing that the desired conference room was on the fourth floor, Jack decided to try and distract Mac with the elevator.

"Hey, buddy, have you ever ridden in an elevator? They're lots of fun," Jack said brightly. Mac peaked out hesitantly, his curious personality getting the better of him. "Why don't you press the button? The number 4."

Mac reached one little finger out and pressed the 4. Not a minute after it had lit up, the elevator began to move upwards. Mac squeaked in surprise, but then began to gaze around at his surroundings in wonder. Jack had known that Mac wouldn't be able to resist studying this huge machine and he was pretty proud of himself for the quick thinking.

Mac looked more than a little disappointed when they got off on their floor. Jack could have sworn that he was staring at the button panel like he wanted to take it apart. Something told him that he could have too.

As they walked past the front desk of Jack's department, the desk attendant gave Mac a smile. His face immediately reddened, and he buried it in the crook of Jack's neck. He had a sneaking suspicion that Mac got embarrassed when people payed attention to him because no one had ever done it before, certainly not in a friendly manner if they did.

After a few more hallways, they finally approached the desired conference room. Jack carefully opened the door and saw that Matty had gathered the whole team there. Jack took a seat in an empty chair and waited for the moment that Mac would realize that they weren't alone.

Slowly, Mac turned his head. Jack watched helplessly as his small face blanched and he pressed himself as far away from everyone as he could. Jack turned him around so that he was forced to look at everyone in the room. As much as it killed him to be the one causing Mac's distress, he knew that he had to do it if Mac was ever going to trust his team. With nowhere else to hide, the terrified little boy buried his face in the giraffe's neck and began to sob.

Jack gently bounced the boy at the same time that he was reaching into his pocket to pull out the letter from the lawyer. He silently handed it to Matty who began to read it, but the rest of the team was left with nothing to do but watch the poor toddler with pity. Jack kept bouncing him as he rubbed his small back, but Mac wasn't having any of it. His small frame began to shake, and his breathing picked up.

He looked up at Jack with huge eyes as he took in desperate gasps of air. "D-d-dack…dest h-huwrts," he sobbed. The fire truck slipped from his grasp as he reached for his tight chest.

When he had been crying before, Jack hadn't liked it, but he could deal with it if Mac got used to the team, but this was dangerous to the toddler's health. He had seen people pass out from panic attacks this bad and he wasn't about to let that happen to Mac.

"Alright, buddy, take a breath in and let it out. Listen to how I breathe and match me, it's like a game. Try and match me and you win," Jack whispered as he softly massaged Mac's tight chest. The boy tried to do so, but the tears began to flow harder when he couldn't do it. Which made his breathing pick up more. Which made his chest pain worse. Which made him cry. It was one big cycle that Jack knew would continue until Mac passed out.

Jack didn't know what to do. Over the last two weeks, Jack had dealt with more than a few of Mac's panic attacks, but none of his usual tactics were working. Suddenly, Casey slid off of her chair and sat on her knees in front of Mac.

"Hey Mac, I'm Casey," she said brightly.

Mac sobbed when she spoke to him, but she pressed on, much like Riley had in the hospital. Casey picked the fire truck up off of the ground and offered it to the little boy. "Do you want to play? We can but not until you calm down."

When this tactic didn't work, she gently reached out and touched the giraffe. "What's his name?" she asked him quietly. Mac who, despite his current state, was terrified of the consequences of not answering a direct question like that. He kept his face in the giraffe's neck but mumbled something between gasps.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you?" Casey said, hoping this would force the small child to look at her. To her relief, he did bring his face out of the stuffed animal but continued to avoid the gazes of everyone in the room.

"Eucid," he whispered. Tears still poured down his face, but his breathing had turned into tiny hiccup-like sounds.

"You Kid?" Casey asked, glancing at Jack for help. He just shrugged. He hadn't even known that the giraffe had a name and he wasn't sure that Diane had either.

Mac shook his head fervently. "N-no, Eucid!" he said trying to put emphasis on a particular part of the word. When Casey once again looked lost, Mac huffed in annoyance and crawled up on the table. Everyone was so surprised by his sudden change in behavior that no on e even tried to tell him to get down.

Mac reached a pen and a pad of paper in the middle of the table. He picked up the pen and began to slowly write something on the paper, his tongue poking out of the side of his mouth in concentration.

"This can't be real. There's no way he's writing anything coherent let alone legible," Cooper whispered to Reyes, who nodded her head in agreement. When Mac was finished, he picked up the piece of paper and brought it back to Casey. He tapped it with his small index finger and handed it to her. In the center of the paper was the perfectly neat word, Euclid.

"Oh Euclid!" Casey exclaimed, handing the pad off to Bochen in awe. The group passed it around the table and studied the neat letters in amazement. None of them could believe that a two-year-old had written them considering the perfect spelling and neatness.

Matty scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. "Mac, my name is Matty, can you tell me where you learned to write?"

Mac had made his way on to the floor and was now softly pushing the fire truck back and forth while Casey held the giraffe for him. He looked up at Jack with worry, but he just smiled back and gave him the thumbs up. To everyone's surprise, including the subject herself, Mac hesitantly crawled into Casey's lap. He looked at her nervously for a moment until she ruffled his hair and made him giggle. It seemed that Mac had made a friend.

"Why don't you answer Matty, Mac? She's just curious," Casey said brightly. Mac looked up at Matty for the first time, but to his surprise, nothing seemed hostile in her gaze. She almost seemed…concerned? What about?

"My daddy tead me wots. You must wite pwerfect or bad fings tome," he said quietly, as if reciting from a rule book. Everyone was confused by these words. Apparently, James had abused Mac, but also taught him? That didn't make any sense to the agents.

"What do you mean by that Mac?" Matty asked, trying to get the toddler to say something about his father hitting him. The room was set up with hidden cameras recording this whole interview for evidence, of course, but if he didn't say anything, it didn't matter.

"Daddy tead me fings yike the ekasion for speed is ditance divwided by time," Mac said simply, and then went back to making quiet engine sounds for the fire truck like any other two-year-old. Everyone sat shocked. Even Matty was at a loss for words. Finally, she settled on, "You're very smart, Mac."

"Wait until you hear him speak Spanish," Jack said, a proud smile on his face.

"He can speak Spanish!?" Reyes exclaimed. Jack was about to reply, but was cut off by Mac stating, "Si, hablo espanol con fluidez."

Every mouth in the room dropped open. "He…he just...said "yes, I speak fluent Spanish" perfectly," Reyes stuttered in astonishment.

While impressed, Matty was still determined to get answers. "Where did you learn to speak Spanish?" she demanded. Mac gently rammed the fire truck into Casey's leg while he thought.

"Daddy have wots of people who 'peak it ova'. I yisten," he stated simply.

"What do you mean you listen, sweetie?" Casey questioned carefully. Mac looked up at her almost as if he couldn't believe that she didn't understand what he meant. "I wemember eveyfing I 'ear."

Matty tried to make sense of it all. Jack had told her that Mac was smart, but it was obvious to her now that his intelligence went beyond that. He seemed to have a genius IQ, by her best guess, and some sort of audio version of a photographic memory. He needed to be tested for sure, but right then wasn't exactly the best time for her to bring that up. Instead, she tried to reroute the conversation.

"Mac, did your daddy or the people that came over hit you or hurt you in anyway?" she asked seriously.

Mac's small head whipped up so fast she was surprised that he didn't get dizzy. Fat tears immediately began to roll down his cheeks and he absentmindedly reached for Jack with shaking hands. Jack obeyed and sat him on his lap.

"You're okay. She didn't mean that anyone here was gonna hit you, she was just wonderin' if your daddy ever did," he whispered.

Mac buried his face in his favorite hiding spot, the crook of Jack's neck. Everyone in the room thought that the interview was surely over, but they were all surprised when a small voice muttered, "Bad m-men tome in w-woud twuck. Daddy and bad men…no, no, no…" The small voice trailed off, repeating the mantra over and over again. A violent shiver went down Mac's small frame as he continue to whisper no over and over again.

"That's enough," Jack said firmly. He gathered Mac's toys and stood to leave. As he opened the door, Matty called after him, "I'll take a look at this letter and see what I can do."

Jack nodded to show that he had heard her. He hoped for his sake, and for the sake of the shaking toddler in his arms especially, that she found something he could do. If she didn't, he feared what would happen to not only Mac, but his entire family.


	8. Court

_Previously:_

_Jack nodded to show that he had heard her. He hoped for his sake, and the sake of the shaking toddler in his arms especially, that she found something he could do. If she didn't, he feared what would happen to not only Mac, but his entire family._

0000

Three weeks later, and they still didn't have a solution to all of this. Matty had spent hours going over the tape and reading the letter, but still came up empty handed. The entire team had been acting tirelessly looking for loopholes in the letter. And now the court date had arrived, and Jack was tying Mac's small tie that Casey had squealed over for almost ten minutes.

Because they had not found anything, Jack was extremely nervous. Not only that, but pretty pissed to. Even though Mac was very intelligent, he was only two and still didn't fully understand what was going on. He was still all excited about the fact that he got to wear his handsome new suit. They had purposely avoided telling him that his dad was going to be there, but they knew that he was going to find out eventually and probably have a meltdown. It wasn't going to be good either because of all of the strange people and the fact that Mac would have to talk to the judge. To appease him, he was bringing Euclid. Riley didn't really understand what was happening either, just that they had some serious business to take care of regarding Mac.

The entire team was going to be there for support, and Matty with the meager evidence they did have, but there wasn't much they could do overall. Jack and Diane had gotten a lawyer of course, but Jack also knew that there was only so much even they could do against someone with as many connections as James MacGyver.

Jack finished the knot on the little boy's tie and place his hands on his shoulders. "Do I wook good, Dack?" Mac said with a sparkle in his eyes. Mac had been with them for a little over a month now, and he had improved drastically. He now ate as much as he wanted and didn't apologize every time he woke them up with a nightmare. Although he was still prone to panic attacks and scared of practically everything, especially being restrained, he had managed to have two playdates with Bozer and Desi had even come over for lunch once.

"You look very handsome, little dude," Jack said, plastering a grin he really didn't feel on his face.

"You'we sad," Mac whispered. Jack couldn't help but smile at those words. Mac was very observant and always in tune with other people's feelings. When other people were upset, whether it was with him or not, he felt it like it was his own emotions. Jack had a feeling that was why he was so afraid people were always mad at him. Because his dad probably always was, Mac was unsettlingly good at feeling other people's emotions, especially anger.

"A little bit," Jack answered quietly. Mac stood on his tip toes from his position on his bed and jerkily patted Jack's shoulder.

"Eveyfing will be alwight, Dack," he said with a sweet smile on his face. Jack almost envied the boy's innocence to the entire situation. As much as he wanted to believe the toddler, he still had his doubts. His heart still melted at the toddler's attempts to comfort him even though the boy didn't even know what was going on. Jack wrapped his arms around Mac and pulled him towards his chest. The little boy buried his face in Jack's suit jacket and the elder man gently placed his hand on the back of his head. He softly kissed the blond locks and breathed in the smell of the strawberry baby shampoo.

"Sure is buddy," Jack whispered, "Now come on. Grab Euclid and we'll get goin'." Mac grabbed his stuffed animal and Jack scooped him up in his arms. They met Diane at the front door, who had just gotten back from dropping Riley off at Sam's house. She was looking beautiful, yet official, in her black jumpsuit. She gave Mac a reassuring smile and the three made their way to the car.

0000

They were met by Jack's team when they pulled up to the courthouse. Everyone was dressed up and looking grim, but Casey at least tried to look like her eccentric self for Mac's safe. Over the last three weeks since the discussion in the conference room, Mac had grown to trust Casey almost as much as Jack and Diane. He was still hesitant around everyone else, but he no longer had complete panic attacks in their presence.

"Hey, Mac Attack, how are you this morning? Oh, and how's Euclid?" she asked with extra excitement behind her voice. Mac smiled shyly at her and petted Euclid's head thoughtfully.

"I'm alwight, but Eucid's scawed," he said.

"Why's he scared?" Matty asked curiously. Mac chewed on his bottom lip nervously and then looked at Matty like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "He dwoesn't know what's goin' on" he said, looking at the ground. None of them commented on how Euclid's feelings obviously mirrored Mac's own.

The group made their way into the lobby of the courthouse where a receptionist directed them to the court room. "Mac, look at that!" Diane said, pointing at a statue of a Grizzly Bear. Mac's mouth fell open and then he roared playfully. Despite their moods, no one could help but laugh.

The moment of lightheartedness was immediately ripped away when they entered the courtroom. Of course, James was already there, waiting at the plaintiff stand. Jack's team filed into seats in the viewing area, while him, Diane, and Mac continued on towards the defendant stand.

Jack felt the exact moment Mac noticed his father. His entire body language changed, going from curious and happy to terrified and panicked in a matter of seconds. Jack felt the small fist tighten on his jacket. The tremors began and Jack wanted nothing more than to walk right out of there and keep Mac as far away from that man as he could. But, this was something that he couldn't choose.

"W-what daddy doin' hewre?" Mac whimpered. The sound tore at Jack's heartstrings. Nothing had ever caused his heart to shatter and swell like Mac's emotions did, whether it was from his giggle to his sob. "Whewe are we? What goin' on?" he asked desperately.

Jack sat Mac down on the chair beside the stand. He looked him in the eyes as he tried to explain it in a way that he would understand. "Your daddy is doin' somethin' not so nice. We're in a fancy building run by really powerful people who are gonna try and stop your daddy from doin' what he wants to."

"Mr. Dalton, if everyone is ready, let's get sworn in," the judge said from her stand. Jack patted Mac's head reassuringly and then stood up to take his oath. When that was all done, the judge addressed everyone.

"Before we begin the case, each side is allowed five minutes to talk privately with the child. No one will listen in on the conversation. It will be recorded, but only listened to if there is suspected foul play. Do both parties consent to these terms?"

After both sides had consented, James was given the right of way to talk to Mac first. Jack was seething at this point, and he was terrified of having James anywhere near Mac. He had absolutely no idea what would happen to the boy. James was led into a room outside of the courtroom, and the bailiff came back for Mac. Mac looked up at him with fear in his eyes and slid off of his seat, gripping Jack's pant leg in the process.

Jack could feel the judge's eyes on every movement they made. She was analyzing every gesture and every word, so Jack decided to put on a show. He knelt down in front of the toddler and took one of his small hands in his.

"Mac, go with the nice man. He's safe. He's just gonna take you to another room to talk," Jack explained.

"He safe? You tome?" Mac asked hopefully.

"No bud, I can't come. But I promise you will be back in five minutes. I promise that he's safe, you trust me, don't you?" Jack asked gently.

"Pwomise?" Mac asked, putting his little pinky out.

"Promise," Jack declared, hooking his pinky around the smaller one. An immense wave of guilt crashed over Jack at the sight of the trust in Mac's eye. He hated to think of what talking to that man would do to Mac. Now, he had purposefully lied to the little boy who he already loved as much as Riley. He had finally earned the toddler's complete and utter trust, and now he had possibly broken Mac's faith in him with a few words.

Mac allowed the bailiff to take his hand and lead him away. Mac looked back at Jack while he was led away, a small smile on his face. Jack didn't even have the heart to return it.

0000

The bailiff opened the door for Mac to walk in. He obeyed and the door was shut behind him. Mac jumped at the sound of the lock clicking behind him, but all other thoughts went down the drain at the sound of his father's voice.

"Hello son," James said with a grin on his face. Mac's face whipped up and all color drained out of his face. James reached out and touched Mac's shoulder, a small, terrified cry escaping his lips. He backed up into the door, his grip tightening around his stuffed animal.

"Momma," Mac whimpered, "D-dack."

"Your mother died because of you, Angus. She's not here anymore because of you. As for that Jack Dalton, he will never be your father. I am the only father you will ever have and you will always obey me. Do you understand?" James demanded with a growl. He inched his way forward and clamped his hand down on Mac's shoulder. The toddler sobbed desperately and shook his head.

"Do you understand!?" James roared. Mac cried harder as he stuttered out, "Y-yes."

"Very good," James hissed, "Now, our time is almost up, but I have one more thing I need to say. The judge is going to ask you whether or not I ever hurt you. You will say no, or I will hunt you down and end you. Am I clear?"

Shivers racked Mac's frame. He had seen the things that his daddy could do to other people, and he was terrified to think of that happening to him. All he wanted was to be kissed by his momma, held by his good daddy, and chased by Riley. But what the man was asking was terrible. He couldn't _lie_ to an adult! The thought scared him almost as much as what his daddy could do to him. His head was swirling with the huge decision he suddenly had to make. He felt dizzy and his stomach felt yucky. Even so, he was able to give a tiny nod in response to his dad's demand.

It looked like there was more James wanted to say, but Mac was saved by the bailiff coming to take them back to the courtroom. When the bailiff saw the state of Mac, he shot an accusing look at James.

"What happened here?" he demanded. He took Mac in his arms, but the little boy was lost in his own world. He flailed and screamed, trying to get away. He panted with the effort of it, sweat glistening on his small forehead.

"I have no idea. He came into the room and started having a meltdown. I don't think he recognized me after being away for so long and that made him afraid. Isn't that right, buddy?" James asked, looking pointedly at Mac.

Mac trembled and nodded timidly. "You're okay, buddy," the bailiff tried to sooth. He placed Mac back on the ground to wait for the defendants. His words fell on deaf ears.

0000

Jack had never felt such blinding rage in his entire life than when him and Diane entered the room where they could speak to Mac. The sight of Mac's disheveled form made him want to wrap his hands around James MacGyver's neck and squeeze. The toddler's eyes were red and puffy from crying along with the fact that he was shaking. He was practically panting up against the wall and Jack wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around the small form.

"Oh baby," Diane cooed, rushing towards the shivering toddler. She wrapped her arms around the blond and Mac collapsed into her embrace. She pulled him into her lap as she began to rock him and sing a lullaby quietly. Jack sat on the floor beside the pair and watched them silently. He really wanted to know what had happened and at least speak with Mac, but he had a feeling that what Mac really needed right then was comfort and love.

Mac twisted around to look at Jack. "Y-you p-pwomised he was s-safe," Mac whimpered, looking accusingly.

"I know I did, bud, but you're not hurt. He didn't touch you, did he?" Jack growled, suddenly having a horrifying thought of what James could have done in five minutes.

Mac flinched but answered anyway. "N-no, he didn't twouch me." He reached his arms out and made a grabbing motion for Jack. Jack reached over and pulled him into his chest. Diane placed a comforting hand on the small boy's back as Jack began to rub the tension out of his shoulders. Mac sniffled, turning his head up to meet Jack's eyes.

"I scawed," he whispered.

Jack leaned down to whisper in Mac's ear. "I know you are, so are me and momma. But, I've got ya now. As long as I have you, nothing will ever happen to you."

"W-why do you tate tare of me? Daddy s-says dat no one tould evew wove me," Mac muttered as if it were the simplest thing in the world. As if it had been drilled into his head his entire life.

"Sweetie, we take care of you because we love you. You are the best little boy ever and you deserve the best care we can give you. You don't deserve the way you were treated before you came to us. Even though you are very mature for your age, you are still only two and you need adults to take care of you. We love you, baby boy," Diane explained quietly.

"So, so much," Jack added.

They sat like that for the next minute until the bailiff came back. Jack carried Mac back to the courtroom and set him back on his chair. Mac sat surprisingly still during the entire case, not even making so much of a sound. The judge spoke to both sides, Matty came forward and spoke about the day they found Mac, and even Casey came forward to speak since she was the one who had found the room.

Finally, the judge asked to speak privately with Mac. The judge came down off of her stand and looked down at Mac gently. "Could I ask you some questions in private, honey?" she asked carefully.

"Can I bwing Eucid?" he asked tentatively.

"Is that your giraffe?" she wondered. Mac nodded in answer. "Well then sure!" Mac slid off of his chair and hesitantly took the hand that the judge offered him. He looked back at Jack and Diane for reassurance and they both gave him encouraging smiles.

The judge lead Mac into the same room that he had been in before. He climbed up on to a big chair and the judge took a seat across from him. "Would you like a drink? Do you like apple juice?" she asked gently. Mac nodded timidly and she stood to go get it out of a small refrigerator that Mac hadn't noticed before. She filled a sippy cup from a cupboard up with it and handed it back to Mac.

"So, who gave you your friend?" she started out by asking, gesturing to the giraffe.

Mac twisted his small fists nervously in his lap and refused to meet her gaze. Fortunately, this was her specialty. "It's okay, honey, you can tell me. He's very handsome."

"M-my momma," Mac answered in a whisper.

"When you say your momma, do you mean Diane Dalton?" she confirmed. Mac nodded.

"Mac, are Jack and Diane nice to you?" she asked.

Mac nodded fervently. "Uh huh. Momma weads to me and Dack tuts me in a nwight. Neider one of dem gets mad when I have nightmwares. Oh, and Riley even pays wif me!"

"Riley is Diane and Jack's daughter, right? Is she nice to you?"

"She is vewy nice. She pays wif me all the time. She wikes Paw Patwol too," Mac said.

"Now, this is a very important question. Did your dad ever hurt you in any way?" the judge pressed.

Mac froze. His father's words echoed in his head. _You will say no, or I will hunt you down and end you_. He didn't know what to say. He was terrified of his daddy, but he also didn't want to lie. Of course, his daddy hit him, but his daddy told him never to tell anyone. He had said that Mac deserved it and he had believed him at the time. Now, after spending these few glorious weeks with his good family, Mac was slowly starting to realize that maybe he didn't deserve what his daddy did to him. Even so, he knew the things his daddy could do.

He saw that the judge was waiting for him to answer, so he took a deep breath and said it. "N-no, h-he nevwer h-huwt me."

The judge seemed to doubt his answer. "Are you sure? Because you can tell me if he did."

Mac shook his head and adverted his attention to smoothing the giraffe's fur and sipping his juice. The judge still seemed skeptical, but she sighed all the less.

"Alright then, we need to go back to the courtroom." She offered her hand out to the toddler and he took it, letting himself be led back to the courtroom. When they got there, Mac purposefully avoided the eye contact of everyone, even Jack and Diane. The guilt of what he had just done was already overwhelming him, but he was scared.

The judge climbed back up on to her stand and seemed to write some things down. After a moment of tense silence, the judge began to speak.

"After much consideration and interviews with not only each party, but also the child in question, I have come to the verdict that Angus MacGyver will be returned to the custody of his father, James MacGyver," she said, "The child may leave with the plaintiff at the end of this hearing and his belongings can be picked up at any time in the future. There was no viable evidence found against the plaintiff in order to deem him unfit to care for the child."

Jack's heart stopped in his chest. He didn't think he would be able to breathe anymore let alone talk or think. All he could do was stare at James smug grin. He made his way towards Mac, that stupid grin still plastered on his face. James picked him up and the little boy began to scream like Jack had never heard him before. His protective instincts kicked in and he surged forward.

"No!" he roared. He made a grab for James, but the bailiff held him back.

"Mr. Dalton, if you can not control yourself, I will have you removed from this courtroom!" the judge declared firmly.

"Jack, please," Diane sobbed, tears streaming down her face. Her mascara ran without restraint and she took Jack's calloused hand. Jack couldn't even process the touch, or anything other than the screaming toddler being carried out of the room.

"Momma!" Mac wailed, "Daddy!"

Jack couldn't even let himself feel happy about being called daddy by Mac for the first time. Not when this had just turned into the worst day of his life. Not when the sweetest little boy in the entire world left the room in the arms of his abuser.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't hate me! I know this chapter is depressing, but I promise it will get better. You don't think that I'm evil, though, do you?


	9. Anguish And Evidence

_Previously:_

_"Momma!" Mac wailed, "Daddy!"_

_Jack couldn't even let himself feel happy about being called daddy by Mac for the first time. Not when this had just turned into the worst day of his life. Not when the sweetest little boy in the entire world left the room in the arms of his abuser._

0000

Mac became vaguely aware of the feeling of wood underneath of him. At first, he had the pleasant thought of momma and daddy's front porch. Daddy had set up a tent on the porch one night and him, along with daddy and Riley, had slept "under the stars" as daddy had said. Mac had never done anything like that before, and it was one of the most fun things he had ever done. Momma had even made them s'mores in the microwave!

That memory was harshly ripped away, though, when the cool breeze he was expecting didn't come. In fact, the air didn't move at all. It was uncomfortably hot, and stale and Mac could already feel the beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

He opened his eyes and jumped in surprise when he realized he was staring at an unfamiliar roof. At first, he had no idea how he got there, wherever there was. But then, them memories came flying back. He remembered the fancy building and the lady asking him questions. He remembered the lady saying that he had to go back to…to his daddy. A sob escaped his throat as he remembered being carried out of the bid room in his bad daddy's arms. He remembered screaming and crying until it all became too much, and he went to sleep, or passed out rather.

His daddy must have carried him here. He needed to get out of here! He pushed himself up off of the ground, but his head immediately began to swim. He suddenly felt a growing sting on his temple. He reached up with his small fingers and brushed them across the area. He felt a dried substance there, and upon glancing down at his white undershirt (his tie and suit jacket were thrown to the side) he realized that it was blood. Now that he knew, it was really starting to hurt.

He knew from experience that if he pitied himself over little things like blood, he was just a sitting duck. So, he tried once again to push himself up off of the floor. This time, he waited out the dizziness. When it stopped, he took a look at his surroundings.

The entire room was made of wood with the rafters exposed. There were a few cardboard boxes pushed off into the corners, but besides those, there was only one other thing occupying the space. A door cut into the wooden floor was placed a few feet away. It had a loop of metal for a handle, but besides that, there was almost nothing to point out that it was a door rather than a mis cut in the wood. Mac knew that heat rose and since this room was so hot, he guessed that this was an attic. To confirm his suspicions, he crawled over to a small, octagonal, slated window on one wall. He peeked outside and saw just how high off of the ground he actually was.

He immediately began to feel panic rising in his chest. He did not like heights. He didn't have a reason for not liking heights, he had always been that way. He knew it was call acrophobia, or the irrational fear of heights. Quickly, he backed away from the window, even though it offered a small amount of fresh air.

He took a deep breath, just like his good daddy had told him to do when he felt nervous. After a minute, it helped. The window was obviously not an option because not only was it way too high, but Mac couldn't think of anything to pry the frame off with anyway. His only other option was to try the door. Even before he pulled up on the door, he knew it wasn't going to work. It began to shift, but then jerk to a stop with a mechanic clang.

Mac sighed and plopped down. The window was too high even if he could get out it and the door was pinned with at least one lock. He was starting to get very overheated. He knew the risks of heat stroke and what it could do to a person. Carefully, he rolled his sleeves up to at least let some of the heat out. He didn't even know how long he had been unconscious. He remembered the sun setting when he had passed out, meaning it was about seven thirty at night. Now, the sun was just starting to go down, meaning at least a whole day had passed.

That was bad. He had never passed out from a panic attack before, but he didn't think that he should have been out that long. Even if he had a concussion, he shouldn't have been out that long. Something else had to have happened to keep him unconscious for almost an entire day. Now that he thought about it, he shouldn't have been as dizzy as he was even with the head wound. Tiredly, he laid his pounding head down on his balled-up suit jacket.

He figured that Riley had probably just taken a shower and was now dancing around her room, pretending that her hairbrush was a microphone and singing for her dolls. It was a peculiar thing that Mac had discovered she did almost every night, but she seemed to have fun and he enjoyed it. Mommy and daddy were probably watching TV or talking like they usually did at night. He doubted that thy even missed him. He knew that it had been too good to be true when they had taken him in. He knew now that it wasn't possible for people to actually love him. He just wished that they had told him rather than make him think that he was loved. Even so, he longed for his soft bed, his nightlight since it was getting dark in his room, and most of all his family.

Mac felt tears slide down his face as he thought about them. His daddy had told him that he was unloved, but he had stupidly allowed himself to believe that his good daddy and his family actually did. But now they had let him go back to the mean man and had most likely forgotten about him.

He was jerked out of his ponderings by the click of a lock opening. He rolled over to see the door open and the bad man come up. He sat up but didn't even try to get away. He knew it would only make it worse.

"Look who's awake," James said in a weirdly happy voice.

Mac made no attempt to reply. He could feel himself practically vibrating with fear and he was scared to talk. Sometimes his daddy would get mad if he talked and sometimes, he would get mad if he didn't. Either way, it was a losing battle for Mac.

Mac felt his chin roughly jerked up. "I expect you to look at me when I talk to you!" James exploded. Mac felt a sharp sting as his father's hand collided with his face. The force of it sent him on to his back and he couldn't help but sob as his father approached him, shaking with fury.

0000

Jack let out a shaky breath as he took a sip of his beer. He couldn't feel anything besides anger and anguish, hadn't been able to since the hearing. He had barely said a word to Diane or Riley since they had gotten home last night. He knew it wasn't fair to them, they were hurting just as much as him, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Riley and Diane had both cried last night and eventually fell asleep together in their bed. Jack was the exact opposite; he hadn't slept at all. Every thought he had was consumed by the fear of what was probably happening to Mac right then.

When they had gotten home the night before, Diane had closed the door to Mac's room after she had burst into tears at the sight. She had been okay the that day right up until about an hour ago when she had discovered Mac's stuffed hippo from Casey under the coffee table. She had started sobbing again and once again fell asleep, this time with the animal clutched to her chest.

Even Riley wasn't her usual self. She was sitting up in her room sadly playing with her Barbies instead of bouncing around like a pinball. Jack hadn't shed a single tear. He was way too angry for that. Angry at the judge for making the decision, angry at the team for not finding evidence, angry at James for starting all of this and hurting Mac to begin with, angry at himself for not being able to stop it, and angry at Mac for being so damn lovable. Although he knew that four of those five people he was angry at was irrational, he couldn't help it.

The blow of the day had come this morning when James had shown up to get Mac's stuff. They weren't prepared for this, first because they had not expected him to come at all and second because they had nothing packed. As bad as it made him feel, Jack had left all of the packing up to Diane. He didn't think that he would be able to see James let alone talk to him without punching him. Diane had packed all of Mac's clothes along with the hippo she had found and a few trucks. They had told him that he could come back for more some other time if he wished.

Jack glanced at the ticking clock above the stove: seven o'clock. He bit his bottom lip as he thought abut what he had been doing at that time every night for the last month. Usually, he would be giving Mac a bath and getting ready to put him in bed. He could practically smell his baby shampoo and see him splashing happily in the water. The image brought a surprising smile to Jack's face. It was gone as quickly as it had come, but it was there none the less. Jack wanted to hit himself for smiling. He didn't deserve to smile with everything going on.

The sound of feet padding across the linoleum made Jack look up from his thoughts and the table. Riley was standing there in her pajamas, looking at him hesitantly.

"Daddy?" she said softly, her eyes shining with fresh tears.

"Yeah sweetheart?" he answered. He opened his arms in a sign for her to crawl into his lap and she took him up on his offer. She wrapped her arms around his midsection and laid her head on his chest.

"I miss Mac," Riley whispered in a voice barely above a whisper. These words hit his heart like a dagger. He ran his hand through her bouncy curls that were never tame and took a second to gather himself before he spoke.

"So do I sweetie and so does mommy, but as time goes on, it'll get easier. We'll never forget about how much fun it was to have him here over the last month, but it'll get easier."

"I don't want it to get easier! I want him to come home!" Riley all but screeched. If Jack hadn't been used to loud noises, he would have flinched, but even so, he was taken aback. Riley may be bubbly, boisterous, and energetic overall, but she had never made a noise like she had just then.

"Hey now, calm down. I understand that you want him because we do too, but unfortunately, we can't get him back. Maybe some day we'll see him again, but until then, there is no use makin' ourselves sick over this. Do ya understand?" Jack asked, mustering all the gentleness he could at the moment.

Riley nodded solemnly. "Why did he have to go away?" she asked.

Jack barely refrained from spewing out what he really felt. That Mac had to go away because he had an abusive, idiotic father who could rot for all he cared. Instead he settled on, "Mac's daddy wanted him back. Even though it might have not been the best thing for him, and it makes us sad, we have to listen to the judge. We may not like it, honey, but we have to follow the rules. Now, what do you say we have some Fudge Pops?"

Riley gave a watery smile and headed for the freezer. Just then, Jack's phone rang. He pulled it out and found that it was Matty.

"Riley, keep mine cold for a minute. I need to take this phone call," he said, standing to answer it.

He went into the living room and answered. "Dalton."

"Dalton, I know this is soon, but are you coming into work tomorrow?" she asked in a tone that actually conveyed that she was trying to be sympathetic.

"I wasn't planning on it honestly, but if it's an emergency I can come in," he answered.

"I think it would be in your best interest to come in," she answered, and Jack could have sworn he heard a smile in her voice.

0000

Mac woke up covered in sweat around noon the next day. It was so hot up there! It was getting ridiculous. He was finding it hard to get the right amount of oxygen into his lungs from the stale air. Not only was the heat unbearable, but he hurt all over. His daddy had gotten the maddest he had ever seen him the night before. Pain was shooting up and down his sides, making him have to heave in order to breathe, which wasn't helping with the stuffy air. He knew this feeling and knew that some of his ribs were broken. Not only that, but his face was tender with fresh bruises. He hadn't had anything to eat since he had gotten there, and he had only gotten one bottle of water. He was so thirsty that he had drank it all at once and now his throat was burning again and felt like it was caked in sawdust.

Apparently, his daddy had become aware that he could get a brief whiff of fresh air if he crawled over to the window, so late last night he had boarded it up. Now, Mac could barely even process anything through the haze of heat. It literally felt like his blood was on fire. He wasn't stupid; he knew he had a fever.

As hot as he was, Mac was still immensely bored. It had taken him a long time to fall asleep the prior night because every move he made caused him pain, so he had managed to inspect every inch of the attic and came up with nothing interesting. Even so, Mac looked around for something to do. He spotted the boxes in the corner. At first, he was scared to look in them in case the bad man found out, but his curiosity got the better of him.

With a squeak of pain, he managed to struggle on to his feet. He weakly toddled over to the closest box and opened it. Inside were a bunch of old things that didn't pique his interest in the slightest, that was until he noticed a shiny white book with the word Memories on the front in silver calligraphy.

He pulled the book out and fell down with a cry of pain. Somewhere it registered in the back of his mind that the book hadn't been that heavy and therefore he shouldn't have fallen down. He was distracted though by a sudden tight, cramping feeling appearing in his stomach. He gasped and grabbed his small belly, tears streaming down his face from the pain. When it had passed, Mac tried to figure out where it had come from. At first, he thought that it was from lack of food, but he had gone longer than this without food before and had never felt this much pain. There had to be another explanation that Mac couldn't bring himself to conjure up at the moment.

Instead, he carefully opened the front cover of the book he had found and began to run his small fingers down the first page. It was a plain white page with delicate cursive letters in the center. He had learned to read a long time ago and had no trouble reading the words even with all of the curls.

_James, we both know that I won't be coming back from the hospital. I have made this album ahead of time to show to our baby. Please, you know how much I love you and I need you to show this to our sweet little boy. When he's ready, tell him about me, us. I love you. Please take care of him for both of us. -Ellen_

_My beautiful little boy, you aren't even born yet, and I already love you more than life itself. However old you are when you see this, just know that I have made this for you, and I am gone for you, not because of you. You are my little blessing, sweet boy. I love you with all of my heart. -Mommy_

Mac whispered the words to himself over and over again. He had dreamed of seeing his mommy for as long as he could remember, and now it was as if she were sending a message to him. He flipped to the next page, taking care not to bend the corners and damage his beautiful find.

The first picture was still sleek and new, recent. It featured a young girl in her early twenties with light brown hair and baby blue eyes much like his. Even though her cheekbones protruded from lack of nutrition and she had dark bags under her eyes, she was the most beautiful woman in the world, in Mac's opinion. She was sitting cross-legged on a bed and was wearing black leggings with an oversized MIT sweatshirt. The size of it attempted to conceal her protruding stomach, but anyone could see how her top pulled barely taught against it if they looked hard enough.

Mac touched it lightly. "Momma," he whispered. He flipped to the next page and gasped in surprise. The next picture was of the same girl, but she looked much healthier. She was dressed in a white gown, holding hands with his daddy, and gazing up into her eyes. Her belly was flat, and they were smiling at each other. He couldn't believe that smiling man was really his mean daddy.

He was about to flip to the next page when his stomach suddenly cramped again. He cried out and waited for it to pass. But it didn't. Instead, nausea joined it until Mac felt like he was going to throw up. He rolled to the side and began to heave, but there was nothing in his stomach to come up, not even stomach acid. His head began to spin, and he fell to the floor. He was so thirsty and so hot. He wasn't even sweating anymore because he was so dehydrated. Black tinged the edge of his vision and he didn't even have the energy to whimper as his vision went dark.

0000

**A few hours previous**

Jack ran into work the morning after Matty had called, clutching his large coffee. He was running on the caffeine and pure adrenaline seeing as sleep had evaded him the two nights since the hearing. Matty had sounded almost happy when she had called, and now he could tell that she was elated in her own way as he entered the conference room.

The entire team was already assembled there, and they looked up as he came in. Jack could feel a change in atmosphere since the hearing. Casey, who had been on leave like Jack and severely depressed, was vibrating in her chair.

"Alright, either they upgraded the coffee machine in the breakroom or there's somethin' else goin' on, so which is it?" Jack demanded, making his best effort to throw in some of his usual humor.

"Considering how cheap our higher ups are, which one do you think?" Cooper said.

"Right," Jack said, "So what's goin' on?"

"Jack, I've got some news. I've been thinking about the case non-stop," Matty started out. Everyone's demeanor shifted darkly.

"I started to think, why did James start to hit Mac? I mean, when most spouses die soon after a child is born, the other gives the baby everything because that is a piece of the person who passed. They usually cherish the child and love the child with everything they have. But instead, James started to abuse Mac. Why?" Matty asked.

"I figured there was only one likely reason. James is an alpha male, cocky and he lost the love of his life. Instead of viewing Mac as a piece of his wife, he saw him as almost a mocking him, his wife's memory," Cooper explained.

"I started going over the tapes from the interview again in case Mac gave away anything that we missed," Bochen said, "And then I got to thinking about how it was strange that Mac said about the people who spoke Spanish coming over to his house."

"So, I did some research," Reyes jumped in, "Some of the materials that James would have needed to make his bombs wouldn't have come cheap and he obviously wasn't rich. Even if he is really some sort of sleazy lawyer, he wouldn't have made that much money. He would have needed some sort of funding. I found out that he was, before being arrested, receiving an influx of money from a source in Mexico. A little bit of digging revealed that the source was a cartel that was paying him to build bombs."

"Which is enough to arrest him for good this time," Matty stated.

Jack went to speak but was cut off by Casey. "Oh, but we didn't stop there. We started tracking down members of the group and found that a certain Alexander Dimaco is practically the leader's right-hand man."

"Also known as the bailiff at the case," Matty went on.

"You told us that Mac was clearly very upset after speaking to his father and the bailiff noticed. But, we found out that it was never reported to the judge, and therefore, she had nothing to go off of and the case was never fair," Cooper explained.

"Based off of that, I got an emergency order to review the tapes under the circumstances that a child's life could be in danger. I wanted to see exactly what James said to Mac and why Mac didn't tell the judge about his father. Watch this," Matty said, pointing a remote at a screen in the front of the room.

Jack stomach swirled with rage and fear as he watched the video and heard what James said to Mac. He had threatened Mac's life! Jack was going to murder that man.

"With this video, we can put child endangerment and abuse against James, along with threats with the intentions of bodily harm. There is no way James can get out of this now. We are the only people in this world who know about what is going on, and therefore, James can have no pre-warning of this from his connections," Matty said.

Jack gaped like a fish. He didn't know what to say. He thought that he might actually faint from the sudden, overwhelming joy that consumed him. They were getting Mac back and Jack would make sure it was permanent this time. Riley and Diane were going to scream, and cry and God knows what else when they found out. He wanted to do it himself, but all he could think about was going to get Mac out right then.

"Thank you," Jack muttered. It was all he could muster in his joyous state.

"You're welcome. Now let's go get your little boy back," Matty said, a rare smile on her face.


	10. Rescue

_Previously:_

_"Thank you," Jack muttered. It was all he could manage in his joyous state._

_"You're welcome. Now let's go get your little boy back," Matty said, a rare smile on her face._

0000

Jack could barely contain himself as he strapped his TAC vest and gear on. It had been an excruciating two-hour drive to Mission City in which Jack had almost screamed, cried, laughed, and punched Landers. He was also terribly worried. They had no clue what state Mac was going to be in when they found him, or even if he was still at James' house.

_He's gonna be there_ , Jack berated himself for thinking that way. He couldn't afford to think that way. If Mac wasn't there, Jack was afraid that he would actually go off the deep end. Mac had to be there, he just had to be.

He got an overwhelming sense of Déjà vu as him, his team, and one of the SWAT teams started the two-mile trek once again. This time, Cooper didn't even whine about it.

An unidentifiable emotion spread through Jack as he saw the familiar house. It was a small home, inexpensive and pretty run down, but it blended in. No one would have suspected that a child abuser, bomber, and murderer occupied it. That was how it usually was, though. People joked about how it was the one you usually least suspect, but they took that statement to heart at the CIA. Most generally, the worst people that they encountered blended in like any other normal citizen.

Jack gave the team almost the exact same orders as the first time. Jack and his other five team members lined up on the front porch, Jack in front. He counted down and then once again kicked the door in. They split up in search of James. As much as Jack wanted to abandon James and look for Mac, their official objective was to apprehend James for good. He would technically be deserting his duty by going in search of Mac.

"Clear!" Jack called as he searched the kitchen. It occurred to Jack how sad it was. He had only briefly caught a glimpse of the room the first time they were here, but now he could see just how decrepit it was. The appliances looked like they hadn't been updated since the 70s, inferred from the beige color. The linoleum was off white and grimy, while the ceiling had a few small water stains. Jack couldn't imagine that the woman who had sacrificed herself in order to give her unborn child a chance at life had kept the house like this. It probably went downhill after she died, he concluded.

Jack heard yells of clear from other parts of the house, but then a yell of pain that sounded suspiciously like Casey's cut through the other calls. He rushed towards the sound with the protective instinct to keep their youngest out of harm.

He ended up in the dining room and was met by the rest of his team and a few of the SWAT members. James was standing right in front of them, Casey in his arms, and a gun pointed at her head. She already had a line of blood running down her temple, presumably from being hit by the gun. Why he had hit hurt instead of just shooting her, Jack didn't know, but he had learned to count his blessings over the years in his line of work.

Every single person in the room had their gun pointed at James. Even so, the psychopath bomber seemed to be unfazed by this. He even had the audacity to grin like he was watching something amusing on television. Jack had known that this guy was mentally unstable, all of the people he had killed and Mac were proof enough on their own, but this sealed the deal for Jack.

"Put the gun down and let her go!" Landers demanded from beside him. Jack already knew that his efforts were fruitless. James had too much pride to just let a hostage go after someone directly told him to. Jack already knew this was going to end one of two ways, he just hoped it would be the better option for him.

"Now why would I do that Agent Landers?" James asked, smirking the entire time, "As soon as I let Agent Lithes go, you're going to arrest me, but if I keep her, I can walk right out of here with her and there is nothing you can do."

"Why would you take her? She's the newest on the team. She's the youngest, the most inexperienced, and the most naïve. It would be so much more effective if you took me in her place," Bochen reasoned. Although it seemed insensitive, Casey obviously knew that he didn't mean any of it.

"Now, now, Agent Reyes, I'm not going to fall for that. You want me to let her go and the second that I'm about to grab you, one of your friends is going to shoot me. You guys have been tracking me down for a long time, you know me better than that," James said and clicked the safety off of his gun.

At this point, Jack had had enough of this. Not only was James threatening the life of one of his team members, but also Mac's life. Every second they stood there in this battle of wills, was one second Jack wasn't with Mac and one second that the toddler could be in danger.

James shifted the gun, so it sat straighter against Casey's temple. That slight movement was all it took for Jack to pull the trigger. It was a risky shot, a millimeter away from his target and he would hit Casey and a millimeter away from his target he would kill James. Thankfully, Jack was a highly skilled marksman, and everyone knew it.

The bullet hit James right in the hand holding the gun. This caused an automatic cry of pain and release of the gun. This provided enough leeway for Casey to get out of his grasp and stumble forward. She seemed dizzy, most likely in the works of a concussion, but otherwise unharmed. Jack wasted no time in practically pouncing on James and pinning him to the wall, hand closed around his throat.

He leaned in so that their faces were mere inches apart, a deadly look on his face. "Jack," Nathan said warningly, but he ignored him.

"Listen here, you are gonna tell me where Mac is or so help me I will squeeze your throat until I see the lights leave your eyes," Jack growled.

James gave what sounded like a raspy laugh. It amazed Jack how arrogant this guy was. Not only was he sporting a bullet hole in his hand, but also being nearly choked to death, charged with murder and child abuse, and currently surrounded by more than eight guns and he still managed to laugh it off like the complete whack job he was.

Jack pulled him up and slammed him back against the wall. "Tell me where he is, damn it!" he roared.

"Where would the fun in that be?" James choked out.

"Don't think that I won't hesitate to put a bullet in your head at the same time I collapse your windpipe," Jack hissed in the most terrifying tone anyone on his team had ever heard him use before.

"You won't do that because you need me to get to the little brat," James wheezed, "Not that it matters anyway though, because by the time you get to him, it'll already be too late."

Jack slammed him against the wall again and was about to actually crush the man's windpipe when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Jack, that's enough," Cooper demanded, "You're only wasting time we could be spending looking for Mac."

With that statement, Jack felt all of the fight drain out of him and be replaced by the determination to find his boy. He shoved James toward two of the SWAT agents. "Get him out of here," he snapped, "I'll find Mac myself."

"We have MacGyver in custody, now let's split up and find Mac. I want every nook and cranny of this place searched. Some of you need to also go outside and start searchin' the woods. We've got a lot of ground to cover and I want everythin' looked over with a fine-toothed comb, so let's move," Jack demanded into his com.

"Jack, where do you want us?" Bochen asked.

"I want you, Cooper, and Landers in here, searchin' the house. Me and Reyes will take outside, starting with the basement we found Mac in the last time. Casey, you need to go have medical check out your head," Jack ordered.

"I'm fine, I want to help find Mac!" Casey cried. She looked close to tears, although that could be partly from the head injury.

"I appreciate it, Casey, you know I do, but you need to take care of yourself. Concussions are nothin' to take lightly, and you want to be able to see Mac when we find him right? If we make sure that there's nothin' seriously wrong with your head, you won't even have to go to the hospital," Jack explained. He was trying to be as gentle as he could because he knew that she was almost as depressed as him, but his patience was starting to wane. All he wanted was to be out searching for Mac, but he was stuck in the house trying to convince his stubborn agent to get her head checked out which was clearly leaking blood.

"Please, Casey, we're standing here when I could be out with the rest of the team lookin' for Mac. If you want to help him right now, go get checked out," he pleaded.

Casey sighed and looked down in defeat. "Fine," she whispered, "I'm just really worried about Mac."

Jack couldn't help but feel bad for her. She was still new to the team and, as much as he hated to admit it, she was still looked down on and underestimated. Other than the team, she didn't have any other friends within the CIA or outside of it as far as Jack knew. But all of the sudden, this abused, sweet, adorable little boy comes along absolutely terrified of everyone on the team, but he automatically attaches himself to her. She had loved Mac like a little brother or something similar, he had been her first real success with the CIA, and now he had been taken away from her. So, Jack put his arm around her waist to keep her from falling over as he led her out to the waiting ambulance.

Once she was situated, he spotted Reyes by the underground cellar, so he set off in her direction. "Got anything, Reyes?" Jack asked, seeing that the door was wide open.

She shook her head solemnly. "Nothing," she said, "Everything's the exact same as it was the last time, just no sign of Mac down there. We should have seen it coming, though. James is way too smart to put Mac back down there. He knew it would be the first place we would check."

"Does anyone have anything?" he demanded into his com. There was a simultaneous answer of "no" and "negative".

Jack looked around the property as if Mac would suddenly appear. If they didn't find Mac, he didn't know what he would do. Riley and Diane didn't even know about any of this, and if they didn't find him, they would never know. But Jack would. He would live with the guilt for the rest of his life if they didn't find the toddler.

Reyes must have seen the way he was looking around the property, because she reached out and gently placed a hand on his back. "We'll find him, Jack."

He nodded. "Let's just keep lookin' instead of standin' around here," he ordered, but all of the heat had left his commands. Now worry and guilt had settled in the pit of his stomach, replacing the anger he had been holding towards James this entire time.

"Jack, you better get to the attic hatch now!" came Cooper's sudden demand over the coms. Jack and Reyes didn't even have to look at each other to communicate before they were both sprinting towards the house. Jack was filled with new hope at the prospect of finding Mac. He didn't have any idea what they would find or what Cooper even wanted him to see, but he didn't care. Everything they found hopefully got them closer to Mac.

When the two agents arrived upstairs, they were met by Cooper, Bochen, and Landers, along with one other agent who was holding bolt cutters. Landers was holding stuff that made Jack's heart speed up with hope. He had the duffle bag that Diane had packed and Mac's stuffed giraffe in his arms. Mac was here! Jack looked up at the hatch in the ceiling and immediately noticed the difference, even before Bochen pointed it out.

"That lock wasn't on there the last time we were here. We went right up there to check things out and we never had to deal with a lock. Besides, this looks pretty new."

"Well get it off!" Jack cried, probably louder than was necessary since the officer was only waiting for his orders. He stepped up with his bolt cutters and the lock was barely off before Jack was pulling the hatch down and the ladder slid to the floor.

All of the agents, including Jack, took an involuntary step backwards, away form the sudden he that swarmed the hallway.

"Holy Hades, man," Jack heard Cooper mutter. He had to agree. The amount of heat coming from the hatch made sense. It was the beginning of July in California and this house didn't seem to have air conditioning. Couple that with the fact that heat rises, and that the attic was sealed off from the rest of the house, and you have the reason it was so hot up there. Not only that, but the air wasn't just hot, it was stale, stuffy, and humid.

It was terrible and Jack really didn't want to go up there, but if Mac was up there, he was going up. Without another moment of hesitation, he began to climb the ladder. He could hear the others shuffling around underneath him as they got prepared to climb up.

The first thing he saw made his heart stop. Mac was there, but he was passed out on the floor. His face was bruised, and dried blood was caking the side of his face. He was very pale and dark shadows had already taken up residence underneath his eyes. As much as he wanted to hope that the boy was only sleeping, he knew that wasn't the case.

"Mac!" he cried and scrambled over to the little boy. Bochen was right on his heels and wasted no time in kneeling beside Jack, next to the toddler. Two experienced fingers expertly found the pulse point in Mac's neck, and Bochen began to count the beats.

"He's alive, but his pulse is slowing down," Sean delivered the news in the calm way that only a medic like himself could. "Mac, kiddo, can you hear me? If you can, give my hand a squeeze." Bochen placed his hand in Mac's small one.

After a few moments with no movement, Bochen shook his head. "He's non-responsive. He's suffering from heat stroke, indicated by his lack of perspiration, lack of shivering, and massive fever, and dehydration, indicated by the circles under his eyes,"

Suddenly, Bochen stated, "He just stopped breathing."

Jack's heart froze. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Mac was going to be fine, he had to be fine. Jack knew Bochen was an excellent medic and he would put his own life in his hands, so he had to just trust that he would take care of Mac. Bochen did this kind of stuff often; he doubled as the team's medic of course.

"Well help him!" Jack cried on the verge of panic. He knew it was unfair to explode on Bochen who was obviously going to help Mac, he had been unfair to the people he cared about a lot lately, but he was hyper focused on the unconscious little boy in front of him.

Bochen ignored him and instead spoke into his com. "Prepare the ambulance."

Sean gently opened Mac's mouth and tilted his head back. He then leaned down and gave Mac two rescue breaths. He pulled back and waited to see if that would get Mac breathing again or not.

"It would be best to get Mac out of the heat, but right now, all I'm concerned about is getting him breathing again. They can get his temp down at the hospital," he explained quickly, "He had no response to the rescue breaths, starting compressions."

Jack didn't know what to do. He had seen CPR done hundreds of times in front of him and sometimes on people he had thought of as family, heck he was even certified to do it himself, but there was something about knowing that it was going to be performed on a toddler that had dread filling Jack's stomach. He already thought of this little boy as his own, so right then, he wasn't just a CIA agent watching it happen to some poor victim or even a comrade, but a terrified, worry-consumed parent. All he could do was grip Mac's tiny hand while he stayed out of Bochen's way.

The Army medic placed a hand in the center of Mac's chest. Because he was so young, only one hand was necessary, or they could be risking injuring him even more. Considering the way he had been previously rasping, Jack guessed that he once again had some broken ribs. CPR was definitely not going to help those, but Jack knew this was vital in order to get him breathing again.

Bochen began to press down in quick, two-inch deep compressions. He had sweat running down his face from the effort. After thirty compressions, he pinched Mac's nose and gave him two breaths. Both of them waited to see if Mac would start breathing again. After ten excruciating seconds, nothing happened.

"Damn it," Jack heard Bochen hiss under his breath.

Bochen resumed his compressions. Jack watched Mac's small body convulse with the force of the compressions helplessly. _Please not Mac_ , he prayed silently, _He's only a baby. Don't do this because of his father. We love him,_ I _love him._

After another thirty compressions and two breaths, they once again waited, tension and fear filling the air. Mac unexpectedly drew a gasping breath. He began to cough weakly as Bochen gently rolled him over to keep him from choking. Jack had tears of relief forming in his eyes. He gently scooped the small boy up into his arms and held him to his chest. Mac whimpered at the movement.

"It's okay, buddy, I've got you…daddy's got you," he whispered after a moment's hesitation. Mac sighed quietly when he spoke, even in his unconscious state.

"We need to get him out of this heat and to a hospital," Bochen said, "He has a serious fever."

Jack nodded mechanically, but his mind was all focused on the small boy in his arms. Even so, Jack could feel how hot Mac truly was through his clothes and he knew he needed to get to a hospital now.

Slowly, Jack made his way towards the hatch they had come through. He climbed down the ladder, using one arm to climb and one to hold the toddler securely to himself. The rest of the team gasped when they saw Mac's condition. Despite his initial shock, Landers came over and softly tucked Euclid into Mac's limp arms.

"We need to get him to the ambulance. I revived him with CPR, but he's still suffering from heat stroke, dehydration, and probably some cracked, if not broken, ribs. He's not going to be breathing well on his own for long and I think we would all prefer if I didn't have to do that again," Bochen said. Everyone nodded in agreement and moved out of the way so Jack could carry the small boy to the ambulance.

Once at the ambulance, Jack could see Casey sitting on the edge. She had a white bandage covering the cut James had given her, but other than that, she looked fine. Jack was relieved, not only for his sake, but for Mac's. He knew that it would upset Mac very much if something happened to his best adult friend.

Casey shot up so fast when she saw Jack approaching that he could see her visibly stumble. "I wanted to come help as soon as I heard that Cooper had found something over the coms, but they wouldn't let me," she said, gesturing wildly to the EMTs.

"That's alright Casey, we got it handled. Besides, you need to take care of yourself too," Jack said as he gently placed Mac on the bed in the back. The EMTs swarmed him like medically equipped bees.

"What happened to my Mac?" Casey asked, dismayed.

"He was locked in the attic, which was like a bazillion degrees. By the time we got there, he was unresponsive, and Sean had to do CPR. The rest of the injuries I assume came from _James_ ," Jack growled out the last word.

"If I ever see MacGyver, I'm going to murder him!" Casey screeched. Jack was surprised by her outburst, but he smiled all the same, his eyes flicking to the commotion still surrounding Mac in the ambulance. Casey noticed and pointed towards it. "You should go be with him. I'll ride with the rest of the team and meet you at the hospital."

"Thanks Casey," Jack sighed. He stepped up into the vehicle but turned back around when he heard Casey call his name.

"Oh, and Jack, I'll call Diane and tell her to meet us at the hospital. I won't tell her why, just let it surprise her."

Jack smiled and mouthed a thanks before turning back to the toddler still lying on his back. He had an IV with multiple medications flowing into it. A breathing mask was strapped over his nose and mouth along with most of his torso being covered by a thin blue material. Jack had seen them before and knew that they were some sort of cooling blanket that helped to get temperature's down. He couldn't miss the distinct beeping sound that told him they were monitoring his heartbeat.

"Oh, Mac," Jack sighed. This little boy was the sweetest child Jack had ever met, but he couldn't catch a break. Jack vowed right then that Mac was never leaving them like this again, and something told him that it wouldn't take much convincing on his part to get Diane in on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See, I told you they would get Mac back! Also, I just want to let you know that the CPR may not be accurate. I am not certified or anything like that. It was all merely based off of internet research.


	11. Both Good And Bad

_Previously:_

_"Oh Mac," Jack sighed. This little boy was the sweetest child Jack had ever met, but he couldn't catch a break. Jack vowed right then that Mac was never leaving them like this again, and something told him it wouldn't take too much convincing on his part to get Diane in on it._

0000

Jack watched lovingly as Mac sighed softly in his sleep. He was sleeping the fever medicine that they had given him off. It had been a very long day for Jack, between the initial rescue, the CPR, and the hospital. Mac once again had a couple broken ribs, but this time, he had added a concussion to his injuries. A very minor one, but still. Jack knew from experience that head injuries were nothing to mess around about, especially with someone as young as Mac. The doctors had assured him that he had nothing to worry about when it came to the concussion, but they had admitted to being worried about his fever. They had given the same diagnosis as Bochen: heat stroke. It really wasn't an uncommon condition, they had explained, but they were having trouble getting his fever down.

Mac shivered violently, but they wouldn't give him any kind of blanket besides the cooling one. Jack reached out and gently stroked the boy's forehead. He unintentionally winced at the heat coming from the toddler's skin. He had half-heartedly joked with Casey about the small boy's big brain melting in order to lighten the mood. Neither one of them really laughed.

The team, including a reluctant Casey, had gone back to LA about an hour ago. Diane and Riley were on their way up. Staying true to her word, Casey hadn't told Diane anything; only that it was urgent. This left a very confused Diane and an excited, also kind of nervous, Jack.

So, Jack was left to his own thoughts, something he had been told many times could be very dangerous. James was in a prison cell awaiting trial. They had the proof they needed to put him away for child abuse, affiliation with a cartel, and assault of a federal agent. They still couldn't put him away for the bombings or the murders, the things they had originally set out to prosecute him for, but he had learned that he needed to be happy with what he could get in this case. Right now, Jack was just happy to know that the man was going away for a long time and could never lay another hand on Mac.

With that being said, Mac was left without any blood relationships. His social worker had been doing deep digging in order to find family, but the poor toddler didn't seem to have any. His father was in prison for a very long time and his mother was dead, the same as all of his grandparents. His father had been an only child, so that ruled out aunts and uncles on the paternal side. His mother had a sister named Gwendolyn Hayes, but she had died in a plane crash right after Mac was born. Unfortunately, Jack knew that was going to have Katie Coldheart questioning where him and Diane stood in all of this.

Jack also had to wonder where MacGyver was keeping all of his bomb building materials. At this point, he knew that they weren't anywhere in his house. The guy had to have a buttload of the stuff, but they hadn't found a trace of anything. _If only they could_ , Jack fantasized, _then we would be able to put so many things against him he would never have a chance of parole._

Jack was pulled from his wonderings when a very flustered Diane ran into the room, holding the hand of a sleepy Riley. Diane looked like she was about to pass out, cry, and scream all at once when she noticed Mac lying in the bed. She sent an accusatory look at Jack.

"Why did I not know about this!?" she screeched. Riley jumped, the sound pulling her out of her half-asleep demeanor. She glanced up at the bed and also noticed Mac.

"Mac!" she squealed in delight. She made to run and jump onto the bed, but Jack was quicker. He caught her before she could get there and held her back.

She glared at him. "Daddy!" she whined, "Let me go!"

"Sorry, no can do, sweetheart. We need to let Mac sleep. He's not feelin' very good, so he had to take medicine that made him tired," he explained gently. She thought about this.

"He's sick?" she asked, finally understanding. She was glad that her daddy had stopped her. She knew that she wouldn't have liked it if someone woke her up when she was sick.

"Yeah, somethin' like that. He'll be alright though; he's tough," he answered. It was half true. Mac was sick with his fever, but he had a feeling that wasn't the kind of sick Riley was thinking of. "Ri, go on down to the nurse's station and ask Nurse Abbott to get you a juice box, kay?" Riley nodded enthusiastically, now completely awake, and bounded out of the room.

Jack turned to a fuming Diane. He held up his hands in a sign of surrender. "Hey, hear me out," he started, "I didn't even know we were goin' to get him until this morning when I went into work."

Diane glared at him, "You still could have told me. Anyway, how did this happen? Why didn't Casey tell me? Is he okay? What's wrong with him?" Diane fired off, her motherly instincts kicking in.

"Slow down, babe. I couldn't tell you because we weren't technically goin' to get him back. We were goin' to get his father. I can't tell you much about why we went to get James, but I can say that he is never comin' anywhere near Mac. He's gonna be locked up for a long time. As for Casey, she wanted to surprise you," Jack explained.

"This sure is a surprise. Is he coming back for good?" Diane asked, hope glittering in her eyes. Jack couldn't help but smile. Mac was as important to Diane as he was to Jack. That's when Jack finally worked her words out in his mind.

"Wait, you want to have him stay for good?" Jac asked in shock. He had thought he was going to have to talk to her about this, but it seemed that she was one step ahead of him, as usual.

"You know, for someone who works in an intelligence agency, you can be pretty dumb sometimes," Diane said, rolling her eyes.

Jack chuckled once again. "It's part of my charm and Matty is currently getting in contact with his social worker."

"Alright, charmer, what's wrong with my baby?" she demanded.

Jack ran a hand over his face. "Well, he's got some busted ribs again and a concussion to boot this time. A minor one," he added quickly upon seeing Diane's concerned expression. "We found him in an attic this time and he's suffering from severe heat stroke. Bochen had to…had to," Jack stuttered. He didn't want to relive that horrible moment when he had thought that Mac was gone. He didn't want to see his small body convulsing under the force of the compressions. He knew that he would be seeing Mac die over and over again in his nightmares for weeks to come.

"Had to do what?" Diane whispered cautiously.

"He had to revive him," Jack finished quickly. Diane's hand flew up to her mouth in horror, tears already beginning to form in her brown eyes. He reached out and pulled her in for a hug.

"He did his job and Mac is here now because of it. Just like I told Riles: he's a fighter. Although, I have to tell you that they are a bit worried about his fever. They can't get it to come down," Jack explained softly. Diane looked up at him with terror filled eyes.

"He'll be fine, he has to," Diane demanded. She pulled away from Jack and sat on the edge of the bed. She began to stroke Mac's hair, smiling softly when he leaned into her touch. He let out a small baby coo and reached his hand up to grip Diane's wrist in his sleep.

"He's very hot," Diane whispered, glancing up in despair. Jack nodded glumly.

"His temperature has been hovering around 105 since we got here."

Diane looked appalled but continued to stroke the toddler's forehead. Anyone who knew Diane would tell you that she was gentle and didn't have a violent bone in her body. She was the literal definition of having a motherly touch. Even so, she felt a very uncharacteristic rage fill her towards James. He had hurt one of her babies and now she was going into mama bear mode. She opened her mouth to vent, but abruptly suppressed her rage for later when Mac began to stir.

He started out by shifting his small body. This caused him to whimper as his sore body was jostled. He opened his eyes a crack to gaze up into Diane's gentle features. She smiled at him with happy tears in her eyes.

"Hey baby boy," she whispered.

"Mama?" he asked in confusion. He narrowed his bloodshot eyes as if he couldn't quite believe that she was there.

"Yeah baby, it's me. And daddy's here too," Diane added softly. She brushed a piece of damp hair off of Mac's sticky forehead. Jack sat back down in the chair by Mac's bed and ran his thumb over the back of Mac's hand.

The toddler's eyes widened, but not in a surprised way. A familiar terror filled the small boy's eyes. He clumsily jerked his hand away from Jack with a small cry and attempted to scooch away from Diane. He moaned in pain and began to wheeze as his broken ribs were jostled. Diane tried to reach out for him again but withdrew her hands when the heart monitor began to beat erratically.

Jack didn't hesitate to press the call button. In the meantime, he tried to calm Mac down.

"Mac, you're okay, you're okay. It's me and momma. You're safe, no one is gonna hurt you again," he repeated like a mantra. It wasn't helping though. Jack couldn't tell if he was having a fever delusion or if he actually knew who they were. Either way, it was destroying Jack to see his little boy like that.

The same doctor Mac had previously, Dr. Ross, ran into the room. Nurse Abbott was right behind him with Riley who she was trying to keep out of the room. Jack and Diane scrambled to get out of the way so the doctor could have as much space as he needed. Dr. Ross grabbed a syringe out of his equipment and injected it into Mac's IV.

"Shh, calm down," the doctor murmured to him. As the syringe drained, Mac's movements became less desperate and his breathing slowed. The machine returned to a steady rhythm. Mac's eyes drooped once and then twice and then finally slipped shut.

The doctor turned to address the Daltons. Diane had tears in her eyes and Jack's held a haunted, faraway look. "I just gave him a light sedation that won't keep him out very long. Usually, we would have just gotten him calmed down and everything would be fine, but heatstroke, especially in cases this severe, can cause organ damage. We don't want to put any extra stress on his heart for a couple of days. We have him on a heart monitor so we can make sure that nothing strange arises."

"Is the damage going to be permanent?" Jack asked.

"As of right now, no. As long as we can keep him pretty calm for the next week or so, he should come out of this unscathed. One of the signs of heat stroke is stomach pains, so I wouldn't be surprised if he experienced this. Because of this, he may not eat normally for a while after this if his stomach took some damage," Dr. Ross explained.

"What are we supposed to do? He began to get upset when he figured out that we were here. Are we not allowed to see him?" Diane asked, alarmed.

The doctor opened his mouth but was cut off by Nurse Abbott. "Riley and I are going to take a walk down to the play area while you guys talk, is that alright?"

Diane nodded and then realized that the nurse couldn't see her. "Yeah, that's fine. Have fun sweetie." She turned back to the doctor, imploring him to answer her previous question.

Dr. Ross sighed. "I understand that this is hard, but I am going to ask that you wait outside when Mac wakes up, at least until someone can warn him. Once you guys get whatever is upsetting him sorted out, then this should be no problem. I'm not completely sure what Mac's circumstances are, but from what I've guessed, he's lucky to have you guys. Trust me when I tell you that I'm sure this has nothing to do with you two."

"Thank you, Doc," Jack said. Even though it had come from a doctor that they barely knew, it relieved them both to hear these words. If a total stranger could tell that whatever made Mac freak out wasn't there fault, they must be doing something right.

"One more thing: Jack mentioned that you guys were concerned about Mac's fever. Could you tell me what the trouble is? I'm a pediatrician," she added quickly.

The doctor chuckled when she added about her profession. "Well then, you of all people should understand. Heat stroke inevitably comes with a large fever. One of the first goals of any medical professional should be to get the fever down, followed by fluids. We've given Mac fluids through his IV, but his fever isn't falling. There could be a few different reasons for this, but I'm not going to worry you. I'm sure Mac is going to be fine."

"Thank you so much for taking care of him," Diane said.

"It's my pleasure," Dr. Ross said. He shook hands with both adults and made to exit but was stopped by a shifting coming from the bed as Mac stirred once again. He apologetically ushered the parents out of the room, promising to keep Mac calm.

The doctor turned to the toddler. He was staring at him warily through fever hazed, exhausted eyes. Dr. Ross smiled reassuringly and sat in the chair beside Mac's bed.

"Hi Mac, I'm Dr. Ross, remember? Listen, we're taking care of you even though you don't feel very good. Do you understand?" Mac nodded nearly imperceptibly.

"That's good. Now, there are some people here to see you. You're mommy and daddy. I promise that whoever hurt you, it wasn't them. They really want to see you. Is that okay?" the doctor asked.

Mac began to shake his head wildly. "N-no. Day don't w-wove me. Day y-yet bad man g-get me. P-wease," the small tot sobbed. Dr. Ross reacted quickly, really not wanting to sedate him again.

"Alright, shhh. You're okay. You need to calm down. You don't have to see them if you don't want to. I really need you to calm down though," he soothed. Mac hiccupped but scrubbed tiredly at his face, not having the energy to even get upset anymore. The doctor patted Mac's hand and went out into the hall to speak with Jack and Diane.

Both immediately rose when they saw him emerge. Diane was nervously wringing her hands while Jack stood emotionless, braced for anything. The doctor sighed and shook his head as he approached the couple.

"He doesn't want to see you; I am so sorry. He said, and I quote, they don't love me. They let the bad man get me. I don't know what that means, but I would unfortunately advise you to stay out of his room for a little while. You should get a hotel for the night, or if you really want, we could set you up in a room here, though I know you have your daughter here as well. It's up to you guys, but I would prefer that Mac is the one to ask for you before we try anything," Dr. Ross informed them as gently as he could. He really did feel bad for the pair because it was clear that they loved the little boy very much.

Diane had tears slipping down her face. "I can take Riley to my parent's house for the night. They don't live too far from here and then we can stay here for the night if that's okay."

The doctor nodded. "Alright, I'll have a nurse get you set up in the room connected to Mac's. In the meantime, do what you have to do." He turned and went to the nurse's station, having a word with the nurse on duty. Jack gave Diane's hand a squeeze and leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"Go find Riley and drop her off with your parents. I'll stay here and let you know if anything changes with him. Everything is going to be fine; I promise."

She nodded; her head buried in Jack's shirt before she turned and headed down the hallway in search of the girl. Jack, in turn, headed off to the room that the doctor had mentioned. As he walked past the toddler's room, he glanced in and found the boy sleeping peacefully. Jack smiled at how absolutely adorable he looked. The bed made him look even smaller than he already was and the way he casually sucked on his thumb made Jack's hard-core heart melt. He wanted nothing more than to hold him in his arms, but he painfully remembered that Mac didn't want to see them.

In all honesty, it concerned him that Mac thought they didn't love him. He understood why, but that didn't make it any easier, especially when he loved the little boy with everything in him. Hopefully, they would be able to convince him otherwise.

0000

Diane ended up getting back from her parent's house at about nine. The two of them hadn't really done anything besides wait for news on Mac. How could they when Diane spent the first half-hour crying and Jack started to run out of ways to console her?

It was about two o'clock that morning when they were woken up by Nurse Abbott who was apparently working the nightshift. She seemed very distraught as she shook them awake. Of course, they were both up immediately, not knowing what was going on or if something had happened.

"What's going on?" Jack demanded, panic already beginning to twist in his stomach. If something happened to Mac, he would never forgive himself, not to mention that James would be dead, and he'd be in prison for murder.

Nurse Abbott wrung her hands in distress. "We've been trying to get Mac's fever down, but it's skyrocketed. Dr. Ross believes that he was in the heat longer than we initially thought, therefore his body is having trouble getting rid of the fever. He's delirious and crying and he's been asking for you two non-stop. You better come quickly."

Without hesitating, both adults were flying through the door to Mac's room. The sight in front of them could break even the most stubborn heart. Mac was sitting up in his bed, tears flowing down his face. The heart monitor was going off like crazy, but Dr. Ross didn't even seem worried about it. He just sat there, fruitlessly trying to comfort the toddler as his fevered, battered body was wracked with shivers and sobs.

"M-momma," he whimpered, "Wan' d-daddy." The doctor eyed them before getting up to stop the heart monitors beeping. He approached them and placed a firm hand on Jack's shoulder.

"His fever is very high and there really isn't much else we can do besides let it run its course. He's, unfortunately, very sick," he informed them gently, "It doesn't look good. I'm sorry." He gave Jack's shoulder one more pat before gesturing to the nurse to give them some privacy.

Diane rushed over to the bed and curled up, pulling the shaking boy to her chest. He didn't even flinch, just kept on crying. Diane kissed his head while Jack sat in the chair, taking the small hand.

"Wan' momma," he wailed. His eyes were fever glazed and he was clearly delirious. He didn't even realize that Diane was the one holding him.

"I'm right here baby. Daddy's here too," she whispered, tears in her eyes. She couldn't believe this was happening. Mac had wormed his way into their lives and their hearts, and now, because of his father, he was dying. Thinking this made a sob escape her lips. She buried her face in his blond locks in order to cover it up. She needed to keep it together, for him.

"D-daddy," Mac whispered, the energy draining out of him as if someone had flipped a switch. Jack rubbed the pad of his thumb over Mac's burning-hot cheek.

"I'm right here, my little buckaroo. I'm not goin' anywhere," Jack whispered. A single tear slipped past his guards and slid down his cheek.

"Tiwed," the small boy whispered.

"Just close your eyes and go to sleep, we'll-we'll be here when you wake up," Jack choked out.

Diane began to sing as his eyes slipped shut. As soon as they did, she choked out a sob. Jack put aside all dignity and joined her. His chest was still moving, but they both wondered in agony for how long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess I really am evil! I am ready to admit that since I left you guys on yet another cliffhanger. Also, I hope that explains a bit more on why Mac was experiencing stomach pain prior to passing out.


	12. Love And Recovery

_Previously:_

_"Tiwed," the small boy whispered._

_"Just close your eyes and go to sleep, we'll-we'll be here when you wake up," Jack choked out._

_Diane began to sing as his eyes slipped shut. As soon as they did, she choked out a sob. Jack put aside all dignity and joined her. His chest was still moving, but they wondered in agony for how long._

0000

**CIA Headquarters, Los Angeles, California**

Matty walked in a rage-induced pace in front of James. The bomber sat back with his arms crossed, his usual smirk laying on his lips. The hand that the EMTs had hurriedly bandaged was now handcuffed to the table, blood leaking on to the clean white bandages. The psychopath didn't seem to mind, a good thing since she knew Cooper had been less than gentle while jamming his hands into the cuffs and could easily get in trouble for assault from the higher ups. Matty didn't care either of course, it served James right to bleed from a bullet wound.

She stopped her rapid strides and sent one of many bone-chilling glares MacGyver's way. He quirked an eyebrow at her in amusement while a twisted smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Are you finished Agent Webber, or must you continue your little temper tantrum? It really doesn't matter to me either way seeing as I'm not going anywhere," James said, chuckling at his own joke. Matty pretended to burn a hole through his forehead, something she saved for particularly annoying people or abusive bomber psychopaths who were so narcissistic and cocky that it was sickening.

"Well, at least you got one of those things right. You surely are never getting out of here this time," Matty said, managing to sound sarcastic and give him a hard stare in a way that only she had mastered.

Once again, the man chuckled. "Oh Matilda, you have so much to learn about me. You would think that after all of this time hunting me down that you would know me better than you appear to. I know a lot of people Agent. I merely meant that I'm not going anywhere _right now_."

Matty rolled her eyes. "I think that you'll find your contacts a little less approachable this time around. They're not going to want to deal with someone who has as many things against him as you do and jeopardize their reputation, even if they are sleazy scumbags like you."

James snorted, although there was hint of something in his eyes that wasn't quite fear, but something close to it. "Am I privileged enough to know what I'm being charged for or is that a need to know thing? I really don't think I deserve to be here considering Agent Dalton was the one who shot me in the hand. Maybe you should evaluate him," James prodded. _Leave it up to him to claim that Jack is the one who needs to be interrogated_ , Matty thought.

"Why of course you can know what your being charged with, though it is quite an extensive list," the director said snidely, "First and foremost, you're being charged with child abuse and child endangerment."

"I never put that kid in any danger; he got himself into trouble," James hissed.

Matty raised an accusatory eyebrow. "No? Then explain to me why he was recovered in a cold, dark basement. Do want to here the list of his injuries? Multiple bruised and cracked ribs, hypothermia, a deep laceration on his forearm, and severe bruising throughout his face and torso. That was just the first time. This time, he was recovered in a stifling attic and had to be revived with CPR. He had bruises that mirrored his prior ones, though this time he had multiple broken ribs and even a minor concussion. He is also suffering from severe heatstroke. Right now, one of my agents and his family are sitting with Angus MacGyver, _your son_ , while he dies from a fever!" Matty all but roared the ending.

"Why should I care about the runt or Dalton for that matter? The kid's just a little nuisance and he deserved everything he got," James said casually.

"Why should you care? If that little boy dies, that will be yet another murder tacked on to your track record. We aren't even going to talk about the amount of emotional pain you will be responsible for causing my agent and his family. On top of that, he deserved what he got? Really? He's a toddler! What he deserves is a loving home where he can play, be a kid, and not have to worry about being beat by his own father. Jack Dalton has been a better father to him in a month than you have his whole life!" she screeched. Matty half expected someone from the team to come in and pull her out before this went any further, but to her surprise, they didn't.

"I'm his father! He's mine! Jack Dalton can't take him because he's mine and always will be. He will always be under my control and he will always obey me! Dalton is not his father!" James roared back in response.

"You know what," Matty started coldly, "You're right. Jack isn't his father because he's his daddy. You're his father only by blood, but Jack is his real dad. He's the kind of dad who tucks his son in at night and teaches him to throw a football and _doesn't_ get mad at him about the littlest things! While I have your attention, why don't I finish listing off your charges? Assault of a government agent, attempted murder, the murders of over eighty people, bombings and conspiracy against the U.S-" she was cut off by a roar from James.

"I never built any bombs, nor did I ever kill any of those people! You have no proof and I will never admit to it!"

"You just did," Matty whispered, a smile spreading across her face, "Not only did you not deny doing any of the other things, but you exploded on the part about the bombings and immediately got defensive. I know that you did every single one of those things, without a doubt." She turned on her heels and headed out the interrogation room door, ignoring the screams from the maniac in the room behind her.

"Nice work, Boss Lady," Landers said.

Matty smirked, "I try my best. Plus, I don't take lightly to someone causing my agents pain or child abusers. I'm going to make sure that he rots in some dark hole until the day he dies."

**Hospital, Mission City, California**

Jack clung to the steady, if not faster than normal, beeping coming from the heart monitor. He remained in the exact same spot that he had been in hours ago, not wanting to break his promise to Mac if he woke up. _When!_ Jack chided himself harshly. He had to hold on to the hope that Mac would be alright. The little boy had been through too much to let go now. Besides that, he was too stubborn to stop fighting.

Seeing that Mac had made it longer than anyone had expected, Dr. Ross was doing everything in his power to help him. _God bless him_ , Jack thought not for the first time. The doctor had taken on an extra shift just to run the tests on Mac personally.

The most recent test was yet another blood sample. Mac had already had multiple blood tests both times he was in the hospital, and both times Jack had to practically hold the squirming toddler down. Mac had whined with displeasure each and every time, but he hadn't even whimpered. Jack doubted he even felt it through his delirious brain. Even so, Diane stroked his hair and whispered comfort to him the whole time. She hadn't moved from her position on Mac's bed since they were awoken by Nurse Abbott, either. She kept the little boy firmly cradled in her grasp throughout the entire night and was still doing so even though she had fallen asleep.

Jack was really starting to crave some coffee, but he didn't want to leave Mac's bedside for a second in fear of missing something. He wanted to be right there in case something happened, whether it be for the better or worse.

A tiny whimper emerged from Mac's throat. He rolled his head in discomfort and a stray tear slipped down his face. His small hand scrabbled the air weakly in search of another hand. Jack took the clammy one in his own calloused hand and gave it a soft squeeze, offering him as much comfort as he could through yet another fever nightmare.

"What're you frettin' about, buddy? You're alright. Mommy and daddy are here and we're not goin' anywhere. It's just a dream," he whispered. Diane pulled him a little closer in her sleep which elicited a contented sigh from the toddler.

Jack ran his thumb over the back of Mac's hand. "When you get all better, you're comin' back home with us. Your room is exactly the way ya left it. How would you like to live with us for good? Me and mommy are gonna try real hard to get you to live with us permanently. That means that you'll officially be a part of the family, even though you basically already are. You'll be with us for birthdays and school and the big Dalton Family Christmases. My mama wants to meet her new grandbaby so you gotta get better, Mac. I want to be able to sit at your graduation and do all that other stuff that dads and sons do. I'm sure that big brain of yours would like to work on cars when you're a little older, just like me and my pops used to do," Jack rambled, trying to hopefully comfort both Mac and himself even though the boy was completely out of it.

Jack sighed when he saw no more movement form the boy in question. Once again, he found himself clinging to the beeps resounding from the heart monitor. As of right then, it was the only thing proving to the ex-Delta that the human heater in front of him was still very much alive. Seeing that Mac's fever hadn't changed very much, and he wasn't about to wake up any time soon, Jack stood up to make a very important call. Not quite as important as the call he had received from Matty informing him that James was going to be charged with everything and put away once and for all, but just as important to Jack.

He groaned as he stood, and his stiff joints protested to the sudden movement. Jack made his way across the room so that he could talk at a normal volume and not wake either of the sleeping figure, but still keep them in his line of view.

The phone only rang once before Katie Coldheart picked up. Him and Diane had been discussing this for a while. They had always wanted multiple children, they just never dreamed that they would hopefully be getting their wish in such an unexpected way. Neither of them cared that Mac wasn't their biological child because he already felt like family. For most parents, the decision was one that was life altering, but for Jack and Diane they were merely going to start the process of making Mac legally theirs since he was practically already so in every aspect but paperwork. They were planning on waiting until they fostered him for a little longer, but they had come to the conclusion the previous night that neither one of them wanted to risk Mac being taken again.

"Hello Jack, what can I do for you? Is there an update on Mac's condition?" she asked as soon as the call connected.

"No, there's nothin' new with Mac, but we're all hopeful. The doctors are doin' everythin' they can for him. He's actually why I called though. Is it confirmed that Mac has no blood relatives left?" Jack demanded hurriedly.

"Yes Jack, I'm 100% certain that Mac has no other blood relatives, not even second or third cousins, not that I would send him to them anyway," Katie answered, a smile already forming on her face on the other end of the phone.

"Good…well not good, but…it doesn't matter," Jack stumbled over his words and Katie had to suppress a laugh, "The point is, when Mac gets out of the hospital, me and Diane want him to come home with us. This time though, we want to make sure that James can't try anything ever again. As soon as he gets released, we want to start the adoption process."

"Well, Jack, I don't think that I need to warn that this is a very hefty decision. With that being said, we of course can't even begin the process until Mac recovers and we can meet in person. Not to mention the fact that we have to wait and see what the outcome of James' trial will be. I have no doubt that he will be going to prison, but it's procedure. Anyway, it just so happens that I have Mac's file right here and his status is already written as 'Pending Adoption Process'. Huh, wonder how that happened?" Katie said, a smirk in her voice.

Jack felt real hope of Mac being theirs flare into his heart for the first time since Mac had been taken from the courtroom by James. He had been terrified that was going to be the final time he ever saw his little boy. "Thanks, so much Katie. You've taken a big weight off of my chest. I've just been so stressed since all of this started, and this has really helped. I know that everyone is going to be ecstatic when they hear the news."

"Like I said, I can't make anything definite right now, not until Mac recovers at least, but you are going to be on the top of his adoption list. Plus, you guys are still listed as his foster parents, so you'll be taking him home one way or another when this is all over. I will warn you, though, that adoption is a very lengthy process. It could take up to a year from the time you do the first piece of paperwork until you sign the final document."

"Me and Diane are both prepared for the time it will take. We don't mind as long as we get Mac in the end," Jack breathed.

"Of course. I will do everything in my power. Until then, I'll let you get back to him. Bye," Katie said cheerily.

"Bye," Jack responded. He felt warmth flood his veins. They were hopefully going to get Mac! Now, everything else was left up to the little boy in order to get better.

Jack took a step over to the bed, only to almost be mowed down by a very happy looking Dr. Ross. The doctor held a clipboard in one hand and a syringe of clear liquid in the other.

"What's goin' on?" Jack demanded, the look on the doctor's face causing Jack to get very excited.

"I know what's wrong with him!" he exclaimed in a very unprofessional manner. Jack didn't care because he was experiencing his own surge of jubilance. The CIA agent rushed over to Diane and shook her awake, quickly telling her that they knew what was wrong with Mac. This was all it took for Diane to shoot up out of bed and be wide awake, her own cheeks flushed with hope.

Dr. Ross wasted no time putting the syringe up to Mac's IV and pressing the plunger. Once the life-saving liquid was completely drained into Mac, the flustered doctor turned towards the two ecstatic adults.

"The blood test we preformed when he first arrived came back completely clean, as you know," Dr. Ross began, "Since his fever was not going down like it should have, even with how severe his case of heat stroke is, I decided to run one more test this morning. The results came in and this time, the reports said that he was drugged as some point. It would have been something he breathed in, not injected, since we found no puncture wounds when we examined him. The drug that was used would have been similar to Chloroform, only it didn't cause the burning around the mouth and nose like Chloroform does. Along with this, the drug used doesn't appear in a blood test for a few days after it is administered. With that being said, Mac had an abnormal reaction to the drug which was preventing his fever from lowering. Thankfully, I just administered the medicine his body needs to counteract the drug."

Despite his murderous fury towards James, Jack couldn't be happier. "He's going to be alright?"

The doctor smiled, "I believe he's going to be just fine."

Diane let out a cry of pure joy. She threw herself into Jack and squeezed him, tears of happiness coursing down her cheeks. She received an exuberant kiss from Jack in response. They both heard the doctor chuckle in relief of his own.

"I'll let you guys have some privacy."

Diane and Jack were practically vibrating. Diane climbed back on to the bed and gave Mac's cheek a watery kiss. Jack collapsed into the chair by the boy's bed and gave his hand a squeeze of his own. Both adults just sat in happy silence with the comfort that their little boy was going to be just fine

0000

That night, Mac woke up groggily, feeling like he had been hit by a truck. He gazed warily around himself and realized he was in a hospital room. Jack was asleep with his head on Mac's mattress and there was a pair of soft arms around him that he had a feeling belonged to Diane.

_No_ , Mac gasped in his mind, _They left me. They'll leave me again. I can't let myself think they love me again!_

Mac began to squirm in attempts to get the arms out from around him. All thus managed to do was wake both adults up. Mac was so scared at this point that he let his tears flow freely down his cheeks. He wanted them to leave. They didn't love him because they let him go back to the mean man. They had never cared for him. The mean man had said it was all an act. They were going to hit him just like he did because that's what he deserved.

Jack noticed his tears and immediately became alert. "What's wrong, Little Buckaroo? Do I need to get the doctor?" He reached out for Mac, but the toddler screeched hoarsely and pressed himself against mommy.

"What's wrong baby? You can tell us anything," Diane whispered comfortingly.

"No, no, pwease s-stop. N-no wove me!" Mac cried.

"Of course, we love you, Mac. We wouldn't be here if we didn't," Jack said softly, his features conveying that he was hurt by Mac's declaration. But how was that possible? Why would Jack care if Mac knew that they didn't love? And why would he look sad about Mac saying so?

"N-no 'ou don't. 'ou let mean man get me. Mean man huwt me," Mac sobbed. Jack and Diane exchanged a look that Mac couldn't see.

"We are so, so sorry that he hurt you baby. You don't deserve that, but it wasn't our fault, alright? We love you with all our hearts," Diane whispered soothingly.

"Den why go bac'?" Mac all but screamed. He began to fling his limbs around in order to fight them away. Jack ended up having to pin the hand with the IV down in order to keep him from ripping it out.

"Hey, hey, listen to me Mac," Jack tried. When this did nothing to calm the distraught toddler down, Jack had no choice but to bark, "Angus, calm down before you hurt yourself!" This certainly caught the toddler's attention. He went limp and coward away from the sharp tone. The mean man called him Angus in a voice like that right before he hit him.

"I-I sowy," Mac whimpered, shaking with fear. Jack mentally kicked himself. Although it had the desired effect, Mac was now terrified. Jack reached down and pulled him to him.

"I'm sorry I scared you buddy. I won't ever hurt you and I don't want to see you hurt yourself either. I just needed to get you to calm down. Now, we didn't want you to go back to your father either, but the people at the big building said you had to. Me and momma had nothin' to do with it," Jack explained.

"You didn'?" Mac asked in astonishment, "The mean man says you don' wove me."

"We love you so, so, so much," Diane whispered, exaggerating each so. She kissed his head of blond locks as he burrowed himself between the two adults. He could already feel himself getting tired after his adrenaline rush of trying to get away.

"I wove you," he breathed and fell asleep in their warmth and love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The middle part about the drug was made up on my part. I just wrote it so it best fit my story.


	13. Curiosity Killed The Phone?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys, so this chapter will be a bit heavy since it will reveal why Mac is afraid of being tied down and why he is afraid of engine noises. You have been warned. Anyway, enjoy!

_Previously:_

_"We love you so, so, so much," Diane whispered, exaggerating each so. She kissed his head of blond locks as he burrowed himself between the two adults. He could already feel himself getting tired after his adrenaline rush of trying to get away._

_"I wove you," he breathed and fell asleep in their warmth and love._

0000

Three weeks, two sessions so far with a child psychiatrist (recommended by Matty), many documents, and more than a few panic attacks later, Mac was finally starting to settle back into his life with the Daltons. The psychiatrist had diagnosed Mac with anxiety and PTSD, although she said that it was common for these things to leave children later on in their lives. Especially since he was so young, she said it was likely that he would grow out of most of his PTSD, but he may just be an anxious person overall. Either way, she wanted Mac to have regular sessions with her once a week for a while.

Of course, Mac being as smart as he was, was not at all happy about the "smiley lady" asking him all of the personal questions. However, all grudges went out the window when he was gifted his usual lollipop at the end of the session. He was still a toddler after all.

Mac had somehow become even more paranoid and jumpy than he had been previous to his heatstroke. The first night that he had been home with them again, Diane had accidentally dropped a frying pan on the floor and Mac nearly jumped out of his clothes and broke down in tears, murmuring "I sowy, I sowy," over and over again. Jack had ended up rocking him and whispering reassurances for nearly ten minutes.

That had been over a week ago. Mac had originally reverted to hardly talking at all unless being directly addressed. Now, with some tips from the psychiatrist, he would chime into a conversation, meekly, but still talking. The psychiatrist had told them to ask Mac's opinion on everything so he wouldn't have a choice but to answer. Jack had even started asking Mac what shirt he should wear, and to his surprise, the toddler had a pretty good fashion sense.

Right then, everyone was outside. Diane was working in her garden while Jack was doing something with the lawn mower and a bunch of tools and Riley was jump roping in the yard. Mac was sitting on the deck at the patio table, coloring a picture of Marshall from his Paw Patrol coloring book. Jack had put a gate across the steps leading to the yard so Mac couldn't leave the deck without supervision. This amused the small boy very much. He knew exactly how to get out of the supposedly "child proof" gate. The only thing keeping him from escaping and roaming free was his fear of getting in trouble.

Mac was very bored, though. As much fun as coloring was, it didn't stimulate his brain the way he needed. He wanted to be doing something that made him think, like building with his Lincoln Logs or investigating whatever the heck Jack was doing with the lawn mower because he wasn't doing it right from what Mac could tell. He really wanted to go to his room where he knew there was a half-completed block tower, but once again, there were two things stopping him. One was the less important fact that the chairs he needed to reach the door handle were too heavy for him to move. Two, the more prominent reason, was that he was very scared he would get yelled at for leaving when it was clear that they didn't want him to do so.

The blond boy sighed and looked around for something to do. A glint of something metallic caught his eye. It was Jack's cell phone. Mac was fascinated by the device. Jack often had conversations on it that Mac couldn't hear, but it amazed him how you could just talk to someone across the world as if they were in the room. Not only that, but he knew that there were a lot of brightly colored boxes called apps that he would really like to explore. When you got past the passcode, the screen opened up to a picture of him and Riley the week before he had left. They had gone out for ice cream and the picture depicted the two of them smiling up at the camera, ice cream all over their faces, chocolate in Mac's case and strawberry in Riley's.

His fingers literally twitched with longing to explore the device's insides. From his best guess, all you had to do was pop the back of the phone off in order to see inside. All he wanted to do was learn how the curious little thing worked. His hand reached for the phone, but he pulled back before his small fingers could wrap around it.

This was a huge risk. If he was caught, he knew there was a very good chance that he was going to be in very big trouble. Considering he had once knocked over a glass of water at the mean man's house and gotten beat for it, he was sure that he would be all but killed for taking the phone apart. The memory made him shudder and squirm nervously in his chair. The glass hadn't even broken; the water had merely spilled out on the carpet, which in his experience, would eventually dry without a stain anyway. It didn't matter to the mean man though because he had gone ballistic. Mac couldn't breathe right for a week after that. With the amount of technology, Mac was sure the phone was way more expensive, and he would be in even more trouble than the first time if that were even possible.

On the other hand, it wasn't like Mac was planning on breaking the phone. He was sure that he could memorize where the pieces went and then put it back together again. He had seen the mean man take things in the kitchen apart on countless occasions and he made it look simple. If he just took a quick peek, put it back together again, and put it back where it was, no one would know, right?

The logic made sense in the two-year-old's mind. What he didn't account for, however, was the fact that it was often easy to take things apart but wasn't always so when trying to put it back together again. Before anymore doubt could set in his mind, he reached forward and secured the piece of tech in his small hand.

Flipping the device over, he carefully peeled Jack's Dallas Cowboys phone case off and took a look at the shiny backing. Taking a quick look around to make sure that everyone was still occupied with their activities, he turned back to the phone. After a few futile attempts of pulling the back off with his bare hands, he grumbled under his breath with agitation and glanced around for something to use. His eyes landed on the spoon that had previously been used for his pudding cup. He grabbed it and began to pry the back off.

With a snap, the casing fell on to the table and Mac dropped his spoon. He grumbled once again when his efforts were only met by a big black battery. Once again, he picked up the spoon and pried the battery out.

His young eyes went wide as he surveyed all of the pieces. There were all sorts of wires and connectors that it was slightly overwhelming. He gently fingered one of the wires connected to the CPU. Something told him that the small device was responsible for a lot of things that the phone could do. Though he had vowed to not break the phone, his curiosity got the better of him and he simply couldn't help tugging at the CPU. The connecting wires snapped, and small electric sparks shot up. Mac hissed and retracted his hand, leaving everything hanging out of the back.

Mac froze when he realized what he had done. He had broken the phone even though he had vowed not to. This wasn't the first time that his stupid curiosity had gotten the better of him and he doubted it would be the last, but he had always paid for it in the past. He was almost positive that this time was no exception. Jack and Diane said they loved him, and he believed them, but he had been doing everything in his power to keep it that way. This was going to blow everything out of the water.

Gently, as to not cause anymore damage, he laid the phone back down on the table. He hung his head in shame and defeat as he let tears slide down his cheeks. Suddenly, the sun didn't seem so warm on his skin anymore as a shiver ran down his spine.

The sound of the baby gate opening and footsteps across the wooden deck behind him made him release a barely audible whimper.

"Whatcha doin' bud?" Jack's southern drawl asked. Mac twisted his small hands nervously in his lap. A small hiccup sounded from his lips and the two-year-old could feel Jack 's eyes on him.

"Hey now, what's wrong?" Jack asked, concern. He knelt beside the toddler and began to rub a soothing hand on the small of Mac's back.

Sucking in a deep breath, Mac decided to just fess up before it went any farther. He had absolutely no idea where he summoned the courage to speak, but he managed to squeak out, "I-I bwoke it. I'm w-weally s-sowy."

"What's that? You broke somethin'? I'm sure it wasn't your fault. You have nothing to be afraid of," Jack said softly. Mac kept staring intently at his lap, not offering Jack any help in figuring out what he had broken.

Jack scrunched his eyebrows, trying to figure out what Mac was talking about. Nothing appeared to be broken. _Maybe he just thought he broke something. He is always thinking that he messed up anyway_ , Jack thought. He glanced back down at the upset toddler.

"Can ya tell me what ya mean, Little Buckaroo? I promise that I won't be mad, no matter what it is," Jack whispered soothingly.

Whimpering in fear and defeat, Mac pointed one shaking finger at the broken phone on the table. Jack finally understood. Carefully picking up the piece of tech, Jack breathed out in shock. As he had said before, he wasn't at all mad about the phone, he was more astonished that Mac, a toddler, had done it.

"Oh," Jack breathed and then a grin broke over his face. Everyone had their suspicions about Mac being a genius, but this proved it. He knew that Mac was going to be his smart little guy!

Jack chuckled. "Naughty little boy," he joked. He then went on to ruffle the toddler's bright blond hair playfully, trying to convey how not mad he was. Mac, however, either didn't understand or didn't hear that part because before Jack knew what was going on, Mac was out of his chair and had bolted to the other side of the deck. Realizing he had trapped himself, Mac slid down the railing in sorrow, burying his face in his knees. Those words played over and over again in his mind "naughty boy, naughty boy." The mere memory of those words sent a broken sob escaping Mac's small lips.

Jack froze, not understanding what he had done to upset the boy. He had only been joking when he had said "naughty little boy" and he had even laughed it off in order to make sure Mac understood he was joking. Now that Jack thought about it, that had been a very stupid thing to say on his part. Mac must have stopped listening after the naughty part or didn't pick up on the humor because he had already been overridden with fear.

Jack put his hands in the air so that they were in full view of the toddler, much like he had the first time they met. He quietly approached the boy and knelt in front of him. He went to put a comforting hand on his shoulder, but the boy flinched away, his bottom lip wobbling and his eyes red from crying.

"It was onee assident. I-I no mean to, p-pwomise. P-pwease no wope. No man wif woud twuck," he whispered, no more tears coming down as he just accepted what was going to happen.

Jack opened his mouth to offer the blond boy comfort, but snapped it shut when the toddler's words actually hit him. Jack gave him a confused, concerned look.

"What are you talkin' about bud? What do you mean rope?" Jack demanded, his concern for what Mac was about to say skyrocketing.

"Man wif woud twuck come when mean man get the wope," Mac revealed, his voice barely able to be heard even in the quiet backyard.

"What rope Mac?" Jack demanded more forcefully, wanting to finally get some insight on what James did to Mac for the first two years of his life. The ex-Delta turned and waved Diane over, who was just starting to clean up her gardening tools. She quickly shelved the rest of them in the shed and ran to the porch. As she surveyed the scene in front of her, her eyebrows rose to her hairline. Jack shook his head to tell her that he would explain later.

"Mac, why don't you tell me and momma what you're talkin' about. It's okay to tell us because we aren't gonna hurt you, not ever," Jack explained, squatting down in order to be closer to Mac's level. Diane followed him but opted to sit beside Mac and pull him into her lap, wrapping her arms around his still tender mid-section.

"Mean man use wope so man wif woud twuck could do fings to me," Mac said quietly, never looking up from the hands in his lap. Jack's eyes went wide at what this statement was implying, and Diane gave an audible intake of air.

"W-what do you mean by that baby?" Diane stuttered, fearing the answer more than anything she had ever feared in her entire life. Mac's next few statements could change a lot of things. "What did he do to you?"

Mac squirmed with discomfort in his mother's arms. He rubbed his eyes nervously before opening his mouth and beginning to speak.

0000

_Mac tip toed down the hallway, desperately trying to avoid his father who was already a couple beers in and nursing another one. Even the eighteenth month old could tell that his father tended to get more violent and short-tempered as more alcohol filled his system. All the small boy wanted to do was make it to the closet at the end of the hall where he could curl up on the coats and take a nap without being disturbed by his father's anger._

_Unfortunately, he was still working on coordination and balance. As he toddled down the hall, his right foot tripped over his left and he went sprawling on to the floor, crying out against his best efforts to stay quiet._

_His father whipped his head around, his eyes angry and glazed over, his breath smelling overwhelmingly like alcohol. He stumbled over to the petrified toddler, his nostril flaring. Mac scrambled to his feet and tried to get away, even though he knew it was futile._

_James forcefully shoved his hands against his son's shoulders, causing the clumsy toddler to fall back to the floor with a whimper. Mac curled in on himself to make himself a smaller target, therefore making it harder for the drunken James to get in damaging blows. James grabbed the small boy by his throat and pinned him against the wall._

_"What have I told you about making noise you little freak?" he growled, "You already take up space, I don't want to hear you too." Mac's small hands clawed weakly at James' big, strong ones as his little face turned red._

_"No son of mine is going to be some bumbling klutz who can't even walk on his own two feet. Do you understand? DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" James roared so loud it echoed down the hall. Even through the lack of air, Mac managed to wheeze out a yes. With a wicked smile, James released his throat and left the toddler gasping painfully for air._

_"I think I need to give you a lesson. Afterwards, I'm sure you won't ever be that clumsy again," James said quietly with a sadistic smile plastered on his face. Mac cried in fear, knowing full well that the show of weakness would only make it worse, but not really caring._

_James raised his fist in the air, prepared to bring it down with full force on the eighteenth month old. Just as he was about to bring it down however, the sound of a loud truck engine roared up the dirt road. Mac froze in his sobbing, as did James in his attempted assault. He quickly snapped back though, and a grin broke across his face._

_"Well, looks like my lesson will have to wait. It seems it's time for someone else's. Why don't we tell Mr. Dominguez what a naughty boy you've been?" James slurred. The toddler's pulse sped up at the name. He recognized the sound of the truck he drove and knew what it always meant, but every time he heard it, a childish hope inside of him lit up for it not to be Mr. Dominguez. His father wouldn't even tell him the man's first name. As smart as he was, he knew it was so he couldn't ever tell the police or other people like that what they did to him because he didn't know the man's name to identify him._

_James grabbed the boy's shirt roughly and jerked him into the air. He carried the boy to the kitchen where he slammed him painfully into a chair. He walked over to a kitchen drawer an pulled out a thick rope, nearly tripping himself in his alcohol induced stupor._

_He approached the cowering boy with the rope and forcefully tied him down. All the while, the tiny child was sobbing in fear and defeat._

_The front door slammed with a bang and heavy footsteps could be heard coming towards the kitchen. Only a few seconds later, a large, Latino man with a thick black mustache and matching eyebrows walked around the corner. He was so muscular, his muscles looked as if they would rip out of the thin white t-shirt he adorned. Raising an eyebrow at James, Mr. Dominguez said in a heavy, Spanish accent, "Has someone not been a good boy?"_

_A malicious, drunken grin spread across James' face as he shook his head. Mr. Dominguez matched his grin and stalked closer to the toddler. "Well, we will just have to give him a little time-out, mmm?"_

_James watched eagerly as the man landed a blow on the baby's stomach. Mac let out something between a small sob and a moan. Mr. Dominguez landed another, not powerful enough to kill the fragile boy, but enough to cause some serious pain._

_Both men cackled with laughter at their horrid game while the poor toddler wheezed, cried, and squirmed to get out of his restraints. His fruitless attempts only made the men laugh harder, as James strode forward and landed a stinging slap on the blonde's face. For one of the first time, Mac wished that he were back in his dark basement where his father often kept him. Although he despised the place, anywhere was better than his current state in the toddler's eyes._

0000

Jack stared wide-eyed at the sniveling mess of a toddler in front of him as he finished his story. Anger boiled in the pit of his stomach like it never had before. While Diane rocked Mac despite her own clear anger, Jack couldn't contain himself. He stood quickly from his position and slammed his fist down onto the railing. He raised his fist to bring it down again in anger, but a scared whimper from Mac and a harsh "Jack!" from Diane stopped him in mid-air.

He turned back to his wife and son in all but blood, trying to get a hold on his anger even though it was difficult. He really had no idea how Riley hadn't come to investigate all of the commotion, but he was glad she was staying away so she didn't see them in their current state.

With a sigh, he knelt back down in front of the two and gave Mac a hard look. "Is that all he ever did to you, the Spanish man I mean?"

Mac nodded meekly, averting his eyes from Jack's penetrating gaze. Jack felt some of the fear he had been holding inside of him melt away. As terrible as it was, at least neither of the men had done worse things to Mac that he could think of. If they had, well, Jack would no doubt end up in prison.

"Sweetie, do you understand that what those men did to you isn't how it's supposed to be? No child should ever have anything like that done to them. It is very, very wrong. We will never, EVER do that to you. No one should ever do that to anyone, let alone a child. Do you understand what I mean?" Diane said softly, wiping a stray tear away from Mac's cheek. Mac nodded once again and buried his small face in Diane's shirt.

After a second, Mac peeked out hesitantly to stare at Mac. "B-but you call me nwaughty dust yike dey use to," he accused Jack.

Jack sighed guiltily, knowing that he had caused all of this. "Buddy, I was jokin' around. I wasn't at all mad at ya and I still ain't. I would never do that to you, Mac. Never," Jack finished in almost a whisper

Mac looked surprised. "Y-you awen't mad abou' d-da phone?" Diane raised her eyebrows at Jack in confusion, but he just smirked and shook his head.

"Na, Little Buckaroo, I'm not mad about the phone. Heck, I was just super surprised that you were able to do that. Mac, I don't think you realize just how smart you are, buddy."

Mac seemed unfazed by the smart comment, but he still looked down at his hands in shame while he muttered, "But phones awe espensif and I bwoke youws."

Jack chuckled, causing Mac's head to turn up in surprise. "Do you want to know somethin'? I was actually plannin' on getting' a new phone anyhow. You actually did me a favor by getting' rid of it. I already have all of my stuff saved so when I get a new phone, it'll already all be there, so I don't want you to be upset. You were just curious and that's the only way you will ever learn. So cheer up, Trooper!" Jack said, tipping Mac's chin up so their eyes met. Mac's little face smiled sweetly to match Jack's grin.

Diane hummed from behind them. Mac tilted his head back to look at her while she tapped her finger against her chin as if she were thinking. "You know what, I think this calls for some good dinner. What do you say we go get some pizza?"

"I think that sounds like a great idea," Jack said with a smile. He turned to look over his shoulder. "Riley, hon, what do ya think about getting' some pizza for dinner?"

"Pizza!" came the excited cry back. Not more than a minute later, Riley came bounding up the stairs and plopped into Jack's lap. Jack smiled from ear to ear, kissing all three people in front of him on the forehead.


	14. Science With Miss Matty

_Previously:_

_Diane hummed from behind them. Mac tilted his head back to look at her while she tapped her finger against her chin as if she were thinking. "You know what, I think this calls for some good dinner. What do you say we go get some pizza?"_

_"I think that sounds like a great idea," Jack said with a smile. He turned to look over his shoulder. "Riley, hon, what do ya think about getting' some pizza for dinner?"_

_"Pizza!" came the excited cry back. Not more than a minute later, Riley came bounding up the stairs and plopped into Jack's lap. Jack smiled from ear to ear, kissing all three people in front of him on the forehead._

0000

About a week later, Jack and Diane had to attend a court hearing regarding custody of Mac. To their joy, their adoption application had been accepted and they were now officially in the beginning stages of adopting Mac. According to Katie, if everything went without complications, they would be signing the final paper to complete the process sometime in the following spring.

This, of course, was a cause for celebration among the family and the team. A huge barbecue had been held, with the entire team being there along with Bozer, Desi, Sam, and their families. Mac had been overwhelmed by all of the people at first but proving that things were once again starting to change for the better, he had eventually settled into the games and just had fun like any other child his age should.

Unfortunately, now, this would be the first time Mac had to be with a sitter of some sort. Bochen and his wife were taking their seven-year-old daughter Zena and Riley to an amusement park on one of the piers for the day. The two girls had become good friends since Bochen joined the team and they were more than happy to take Riley with them. They had offered to take Mac too, but more than a few things had Jack and Diane turning down their generous offer.

First off, they knew that all of the new things would certainly make Mac have a sensory overload and surely have a meltdown. The problem with that was the fact that neither of his parents would be there to calm him down and it was highly unlikely that they would listen to Bochen or his wife. Second of all, the two girls would be too excited to worry about including Mac, as much as they might want to, and he wouldn't have anyone to play with.

So, they had started asking around. Landers had a child Mac's age, and they would have watched him for the day, but they already had plans to go and visit some relatives. Cooper and his girlfriend had left on a week long vacation two days prior and while Casey would have loved to watch him and Mac would have been as equally excited, her mother was having emergency appendix surgery and she needed to be there for her. Not only was Reyes not great with children, but she had to go to her niece's Quinceanera that day. Desi and her family were out of town at her brother's basketball tryouts and Bozer was going to a babysitter's as it was. That left one person to watch Mac before they had to hire a sitter, and they really, REALLY didn't want to do that. They had feeling that it would end in disaster seeing as Mac would never have met the person before.

Matty. She was the only person left who they would trust to watch Mac and be able to handle him if he had a meltdown. Babysitting was definitely not something she would usually do but seeing as she didn't have anything planned and she did admittedly have soft spot for little kids, especially ones like Mac, she agreed to watch him for the day.

Of course, Mac had been none too happy when he found out that he wouldn't be with his momma or daddy for an entire day. He was even less happy when he realized that Casey wasn't going to watch him and nor were the Bozers. When he found out that Matty was going to be looking after him for the day, he had gotten extremely nervous, not really knowing Matty all that well. After lots of talking and comforting, Mac had come to terms with the fact that he was going to be separated from his parents all day and that Matty really was nice even though she had a "meany wook on 'er face".

Now, Jack approached the toddler's bedroom door, preparing for a battle of epic proportions when he told Mac they were leaving for Matty's. Opening the door slowly, something they had been trying to do recently after more than a couple doors slammed open and Mac practically jumped out of skin, he let his gaze fall on the little boy's room.

"Hey buddy," Jack greeted lovingly. Mac mumbled something that he guessed was supposed to be greeting, but he really couldn't tell. The blond boy was sitting on the ground, tracing the constellation patterns on his carpet with one tiny finger. His Thomas The Train backpack lay packed on the floor from where Diane had left it moments previous.

"You ready? Got everythin' ya want to take packed?" Jack asked carefully, not really used to this quiet, forlorn looking Mac. It was almost as if the toddler were just finished putting up a fight and had decided to just accept what he couldn't change. It was quite disheartening, even for Jack who had seen most of Mac's ups and downs.

"What's buggin' ya kiddo?" Jack asked gently, lowering himself on to the floor beside Mac. The little boy kept on methodically tracing the constellations, putting walls up as his psychiatrist had called it. She had said that Mac, even as young as he was, seemed to be the type of person who felt they had to handle everything on their own and be strong for everyone else around them. This was largely supported by his abandonment issues and years of being told he was worthless and asking for help made him weak. Well, Jack was planning on doing everything in his power to make sure Mac knew he could always talk to Jack about anything.

"C'mon bud, talk to me. Tell me what's goin' on in that big brain," he said, tapping Mac's forehead with his pointer finger. Mac let a small giggle escape his defenses at the gesture.

"See, I knew I could get that smile back on your face," Jack said, smiling himself.

Mac looked up at the adult, his eyes shining with nerves. "I'm scawed to go to Mif Matty's house," he whispered finally.

Jack, in spite of himself, chuckled. "Ya know what, I'm kinda scared of her too." Mac's head whipped up and his small mouth fell open in a surprised oh. Jack burst out laughing at the small boy's expression.

"You'we afwaid of stuff too?" he asked in amazement. Jack nodded. "Everyone's afraid of somethin', no matter what they say."

Mac just couldn't seem to accept the fact that his big, tough daddy was scared of Matty, seeing as she was much shorter than him. "But-but you'we not afwaid of anyfing."

Jack shook his head. "Of course, I'm afraid of somethin'. So's your momma. Don't tell her I said this, but she'll squeal like a little girl if she sees even the tiniest spider. And guess what. Matty's afraid of stuff too."

"Weally?" Mac asked in astonishment. It didn't seem plausible that the stern looking lady was actually afraid of something like most normal people.

"Yeah she is. Let's see. Hmm, I bet she's afraid of the dark. What ya think, Mac?" Jack asked with a goofy grin on his face. Mac giggled. "Nu-uh, see's not afwaid of da dawk! Dat's siwy!"

Jack ruffled the small boy's hair, but the latter's expression quickly turned serious and he gazed up at Jack. "Is see weally a nice wady?" he asked in quiet voice.

"Of course, she's a nice lady. Me and momma would never have someone who wasn't nice look after you. I trust her completely and I promise that you don't have to worry about her hurting you in anyway. Okay?" Jack said. Mac gave a small nod. Jack grinned. He was so glad that Mac was at the point again where he wholeheartedly trusted everything they said. The first week or so had been shaky, with him not believing or not trusting a lot of what they said, but it seemed that he was finally getting over that.

"Alright Little Buckaroo let's get goin'," Jack said, picking up Mac's bag. He glanced back down at the ground to see Mac looking at him longingly, as if he desperately wanted something, but were scared to ask for it. Jack knelt back down so he was at eyelevel. "What's ya need?"

"Tan-tan, I h-have a hug?" he whispered in a scared a voice. As if Mac hadn't already shredded, shattered, and stomped on his heart from the minute he met him, he had to go and say that. He seemed so timid and scared to outright ask for affection, something he had never done before. The toddler was so clearly touched starved that it hurt Jack's very being.

"Of course, you can buddy! You can have a hug anytime you want," Jack said softly. Mac reached out eagerly, as if his first plea for affection was like someone offering him a jumbo lollipop. Jack wasted no time in drawing Mac to him and wrapping him up in his comforting embrace. The little boy fisted his shirt and buried his face. Jack could feel his small breaths ruffling the fabric as he calmed down and became comfortable.

Too soon for Jack's liking, they were forced to pull apart unless they wanted to be late. Stroking Mac's hair in thought, he said, "As much as I would love to sit here huggin' ya all day, we really do gotta get goin'." Jack stood up, keeping Mac firmly in his arms, and headed for the door. The blond made a disgruntled noise at the sudden shift in movement but stayed relaxed on Jack's shoulder all the same.

"Comfortable?" Jack asked in amusement. Mac nodded with a content sigh and snuggled closer. Jack laughed and headed for the stairs.

0000

Jack pulled up to Matty's large house. The family was definitely considered upper class, what with Jack's position on an elite CIA team, military pension that was quite hefty with his years of Delta experience, and Diane's supervisory position, how could they not have quite a few dollars stocked up? They lived in a fairly large house in a very nice neighborhood, The Hill Section of Manhattan Beach to be exact, but they definitely did not live in a house as expensive or extravagant as Matty, who lived in La Costa.

Jack opened Mac's door and after some wrestling with the car seat straps, he pulled the toddler, his bag, Euclid, and the newly named hippo, Newton, out of the car. He placed the toddler on the ground who at first wobbled on unsteady legs, but after placing his soft, tiny hand in Jack's large, calloused one, he trudged forward as if he were walking to his own funeral. Jack rang Matty's doorbell and not more than a minute later, the dark-haired woman opened the door.

"Mornin' Matty," Jack greeted her with his usual goofy grin plastered on his face. Matty gave a rare side smile in reply.

"Good Morning Dalton, Mac," she said, her voice audibly becoming lighter when she spoke Mac's name. The toddler suddenly became very interested in a pebble on the sidewalk, his face blooming with red embarrassment.

"Shy, are we?" Jack asked in amusement. It still amazed Jack how Mac was so different from other kids his age. Most were constantly moving and constantly talking, and while the moving part was true since the psychiatrist suspected the fidgeting stemmed from his anxiety, the talking part was definitely not. Mac had to constantly be reminded he could tell them anything and even had to be encouraged to just talk at some points. Really, Jack couldn't have asked for a better child his second time around considering Riley had nearly thrown him over the edge when she was a toddler.

Mac mumbled something in gibberish and toed the sidewalk, that pebble becoming like a science sample. Jack ignored him and gently ruffled his hair. The small boy swatted his hand away meekly with an indignant squeak.

"Come in, come in," Matty said, stepping to the side. Jack led Mac into the house and suddenly the hard-wood flooring of the entryway became even more interesting than the pebble. Both adults observed the toddler in a silence that was somewhere between awkward and cautious. Mac, oblivious to anything but the fact that he was under scrutiny of two adults, kept his eyes trained firmly down.

Matty was the first to break the silence. "So, did he eat lunch, or does he still need to eat?"

"Nah, he should be good. He doesn't eat a lot to begin with and he ate before he came. We'll be back to pick him up this evening, but he does have a few snacks in his bag if he gets hungry," Jack answered.

"Anything else I should know that you neglected to tell me?" Matty asked, wanting to be prepared for anything. Jack shook his head. "Nothin'. Anyway, I better get goin'. Diane's waitin' at the courthouse for me and I don't want to be late."

Jack knelt down in front of the toddler and cupped his soft cheek in his hand. Mac's penetrating baby blue eyes met Jack's soft brown one's. Jack and Diane had laughed one time when he revealed that one of the first thoughts he had about Mac once he got cleaned up at the hospital was _Those are the bluest eyes I've ever seen_ which was accompanied by _Damn, is his hair made from pure gold?_ and _This is the most California toddler I've ever met_. Jack had to keep his smile from breaking to the surface at the memory.

"Hey, buddy," Jack said softly, running the pad of his thumb over the boy's cheek.

"Hi," Mac squeaked adorably. Jack chuckled softly. "Hi to you too. Now I gotta go and meet momma to do some adult type stuff, 'kay? We already told you that Matty is safe and she won't hurt you, trust me. You trust me, right?"

Mac nodded, his small fists unconsciously ringing his giraffe's neck. Jack gently reached out and stopped Mac's small hands mid-twist motion. With his original form of movement now obstructed, he began to shift his weight nervously from foot to foot.

"Me and momma aren't leavin' ya or anythin' like that. We'll be back to pick you up later tonight. Until then I want you to be a good boy for Matty. Can you do that?"

Once again, Mac nodded. Jack, of course, had no doubt that Mac would be on his best behavior considering his best was his only behavior.

"I gotta go now," Jack said, pulling the boy against his chest.

Mac's small arms attempted to wrap around Jack, but they barely passed his ribs. "I wove 'ou daddy," Mac mumbled into his shoulder. Jack felt the familiar burst of love he felt in his chest every time Mac said those words blossom to life. He didn't think that anyone would understand the pure joy that went through him whenever Mac said I love you, or even more so, called him daddy.

"I love you too, Trooper," Jack said softly, moving his hand in small circles on Mac's back. "I'll be back to pick you up tonight." With that he rose from his position on the ground and walked through the door, not even bidding Matty goodbye. He felt that if he turned around to see her and also saw Mac, he wouldn't want to leave. And Mac's psychiatrist said the toddler had separation anxiety.

0000

Matty glanced down at the toddler, not exactly sure what to do. She was not trained for this. Apprehending some of the most dangerous foreign mercenaries on the CIA's radar? No problem. Forcing a lethal bomber to give up the secret location of his supply stock? Easy. Babysitting a two-year-old genius with an appalling case of PTSD and anxiety? She was stuck.

Matty had never really considered herself the motherly type. She had always been the one who was known to care about her team, but she didn't baby them by any means. She got the job done and that was that. So, when it came to Jack asking her to babysit Mac, she had been apprehensive, but it was the least she could do for her agent.

Now, she watched the small boy hug his giraffe and hippo, staring nervously at the door where Jack had just left moments ago. Slowly, she put her hand on his back. The boy flinched but calmed upon finding no immediate threat.

"So, what do you want to do?" she asked him tentatively. He shrugged. Matty sighed, knowing that Mac would need coaxing in order to get him to speak to her. Through her work, it wasn't like she hadn't seen abuse victims before, though most weren't nearly as young as Mac. So she knew how to handle them.

She took the small boy's hand before he could protest and led him towards her couch in the living room. She sat down on the couch and went to help Mac up, but the boy in question had already plopped down on the floor. Without speaking, he took a wooden train out of his bag and began to slowly drive it around the coffee table.

_Huh_ , Matty thought, _this might be easier than I thought_. While Matty was glad that Mac was at least entertaining himself, she wanted to see him truly having fun. Something about this adorable little boy melted her hardened heart. Though she wanted him to have true fun, she knew no normal place would do that for him because he certainly wasn't a normal toddler. After a moment's thought, the perfect idea sprang to life in her head.

"Hey, Mac," she said carefully, "Let's go for a ride." Mac gave her a curious look, but to her total surprise, he didn't question it and rose from the floor. Matty gave him a small smile and offered him her hand. This time, he took it on his own.

"Alright, come on, Blondie," she said. Mac gave her a grin that told her she had found him the perfect nickname.

0000

Matty led Mac into the entry room of the science center. His eyes were the size of quarters as he took in everything. Matty knew that this would be the perfect place. It wasn't too busy or loud, which would ward off any sensory overloads. On top of that, from what Jack had said, Mac adored everything that had remotely to do with science.

After quickly checking a map of the building to see where they wanted to go first, Matty decided they would start on this floor, which was the floor based completely dedicated to astronomy. If Matty remembered correctly, that was the theme of the boy's bedroom anyway.

Mac tilted his head back to get a good look at the roof, which was plastered in what Matty thought had to be every constellation known to man. Mac's baby blues flicked over the ceiling. He tapped on Matty's arm with one little finger and pointed up excitedly.

"Wook, Mif Matty, dat's Dwaco," he said, pointing to one of the star patterns that looked kind of like the Little Dipper with a long, curvy tail. "Oh, and dat's Uwsa Majow." At that point, Matty hardly even blinked an eye. Mac was not a normal toddler; it was merely as simple as that.

"Wow, how many of the names do you know?" she asked, half curious and half just trying to make conversation.

"I know da names of all eighdee eight constewlations that are wecognized by the Indernat'al Astwonomical Union," he stated as if it were the obvious answer.

"Of course, you do," Matty muttered low enough not to be heard by the toddler. She followed the now thoroughly excited boy as he bounced to one exhibit to the next.

Throughout the next couple of hours, they stopped by more exhibits than Matty could keep track of, though she was sure Mac hadn't forgotten one. The highlight of the whole trip for Mac had been when he saw a small metal ball on the end of a stick that had initially not been able to fit through a matching metal loop fit through it just fine after being submerged in liquid nitrogen. He had then proceeded to tell Matty all about liquid nitrogen and its properties for the next ten minutes. Matty just smiled and nodded her head.

Another thing that had thoroughly intrigued Mac was a special scale to show how much he would weigh on the different planets. He had been astonished to learn that he wouldn't even weigh 2lbs. on Pluto, while he would have weighed over 700lbs. on the sun.

The strangest thing for Matty hadn't been the animatronic dinosaurs on the prehistoric floor or the massive domino effect models in the physics exhibit, but the jars of peanut butter on the astronomy floor. Yes, there had been a specific exhibit to see how much a jar of peanut butter would weigh on another planet. Matty just shook her head as Mac picked up the extremely light jar labeled "Moon".

Later that night when Jack came to pick up Mac, Matty heard him ask, "Daddy, did 'ou know dat a jaw of peanut bwutter onee weighs four hundwed and fifteen fwoundths of a pouwnd on da moon?" Matty had to refrain from a very uncharacteristic burst of laughter until the door had closed.

Reflecting back on the day, she was so happy that Mac had finally had fun, even if it hadn't been in the way most toddlers would have preferred. She supposed that was his charm though; he was so different from other kids his age. She came to the realization later on that not only was she happy that Mac had had fun, but she was also happy because she had had a sort of childish fun she hadn't had in a very long time. And she was very thankful to the special boy for that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you know, I did really try to keep all of the science stuff true to science. Hopefully I did pretty well.


	15. The Scariest Time Of The Year

_Previously:_

_Reflecting back on the day, she was so glad Mac had finally had fun, even if it hadn't been in the way most toddlers would have preferred. She supposed that was his charm though; he was so different from other kids his age. She came to the realization later on that not only was she happy Mac had had fun, but she was also happy because she had had a sort of childish fun she hadn't had in a very long time. And she was very thankful to the special boy for that._

0000

James MacGyver smirked to himself as he replied back to a letter. He had been in custody for three months now and was soon going to be in prison, seeing as he knew within himself that the final trial would find him guilty just as the others had.

Obviously, he was not excited to be spending the rest of his life inside four walls, but he wasn't a genius for just any reason. He had a plan and though he may not be able to pull it off himself, he had a full drug cartel at his disposal.

So, he wrote his letter. Of course, he got no phone calls, no TV, and no recent magazines, but he got letters. Sniffed by bomb and drug dogs, closely monitored, read through with a fine-tooth comb letters, but still, they were there all the same.

But not matter how many times the letter went through the inspector's ministrations, they would never find any reason to keep the letters from James. They were so seemingly innocent that it was hard to believe the psychopath would communicate with someone in such a way. Of course, it helped when a good deal of the guards doubted your abilities and you had a few men on the inside.

It seemed that he was writing to a former co-worker at the back-alley law firm he had previously worked at. Anyone who went snooping could confirm that yes, the man was a former co-worker. It seemed to be no more than that. Only a few select individuals in their operations knew that he was a two-faced dealer that was doing James, one of his boss' a favor.

To all of the officers who inspected his mail, it merely seemed that he was very interested in this year's football stats so far that season, if not a bit overly curious. His co-workers most recent letter read:

_James,_

_As you inquired in your last letter, your favorite team is doing surprisingly well, even if it is only mid-season. So far, their overall score is 4-1. Not too bad if I do say so myself. We just have to stay optimistic about them finally making it to the Super Bowl. We will just have to see what happens once they enter the Playoffs. I feel sorry for you that you will not be able to catch any games this season. For that I am sorry. Take care._

_Carl_

So far, no one had caught wind of their elaborate code and he really didn't think that they ever would. He was just far too good at what he did and way smarter than any inspector.

The only thing that seriously ticked him off was the fact that the plan wouldn't be completed until April first, hence the football scores. The only reason they weren't putting the plan into motion sooner was because that idiotic Texan Dalton was trying to adopt his kid. _His_ kid! It made him gnash his teeth with anger every time he even though about it. From Alexander Dimaco, who had gone into hiding but was still feeding him information through one of the prison's guards, he had learned that the brat's adoption would be complete the end of March. Because he was his biological father, his final trial wouldn't be heard until after the kid was adopted. Thus, they couldn't execute their plan until after his adoption.

James smiled despite himself. Even though it was only the end of October and he still had a six month wait ahead of him, he was elated. The plan was coming together and by the time this was all said and done, Dalton's family, and most of all his son, would be dead.

0000

Giggles, laughter, and squeals could be heard all through the Dalton's house. It was the evening of October 31st with Riley, her gang of friends, Bochen's wife Amelia, Landers' wife Ellie, Desi's mom Duyen, and Diane taking over the entire top floor of the house. That left Jack, Landers, Bochen, and Bozer's dad Patrick to deal with the little boys in the downstairs.

Jack was currently trying to convince Mac that taking candy from strangers on Halloween was okay after the young boy had declared "Can'y is one of da mos' common ways stwanges luwe childwen into bein' aducted."

"B-but daddy, ova' eight hundwed f-fousand childwen are wepowted missin' evwey 'ear!" the toddler cried, very flustered now.

"Hey, listen. I wouldn't ever let anyone take ya, kay? I promise that it's okay to take candy from people today. We go through the candy when we get home to make sure it's safe so ya got nothin' to worry about, bud. Now, I know you got lots of facts about Halloween up in that head. Why don't you tell me some?" Jack prodded, hoping that some of the facts would help get Mac excited about Trick or Treating.

"O-otay. Hall'ween owiginated fwom an ancient Celtic festivawl. A-and Day of the Dead, or _Dia de los Muertos_ , s'ould weally be called Days of the Dead pecause it goes on fow mowe dan one day," Mac recited, becoming more animated as he did so.

"See there you go. You know better than anyone that Halloween is supposed to be fun and it is perfectly safe to go out to join in the festivities. Besides, do you really think I would let anythin' happen to ya?" Jack said softly. Mac looked away with embarrassment, his toes scrunching nervously into the carpet.

"No, 'ou teep me safe, daddy," he said softly.

Jack smiled, "Of course I do, and I always will. Now come on, the girls will be done getting' ready soon and we don't want them to beat you guys into your costumes do ya?"

Mac shook his head vigorously. Jack grinned, "Well then let's go."

The next few minutes is a flurry of trying to get all of the boys into their costumes. If someone would have told him what he would be doing right then clear back when he first found the small toddler beaten, broken, and terrified in that basement, he would have probably contacted the nearest mental hospital. He definitely hadn't signed up for this after he had returned from a five-day long op, but he was having the time of his life all the same.

Jack stood back and marveled at his handiwork. Of course, Diane had made the costume and it had just been a matter of getting it on the toddler for Jack, but he had to take what little credit he could get.

Mac had been impeccably cute before the costume, but now he really was just absolutely adorable. He stood in his white lab coat that fell just above his ankles so he wouldn't trip, a pair of specially fitted latex gloves on his hands, and a pair of lab goggles sitting on his blond head. The small pocket on the jacket held two pens and a small plastic test tube, finishing out the whole scientist look.

Mac beamed with excitement. He flapped his hands, watching as his jacket sleeves bounced around his wrists. Jack smiled and gave him a thumbs up. "All ready?" he asked. Mac nodded eagerly as Bozer bounded over to him, clad in his chef's costume.

"Let's go get candy Mac!" Bozer cried, shoving an orange plastic pumpkin in the toddler's hands.

"Slow down, Boze," Jack said, "We gotta wait for everyone else." Bozer put on an award-winning pout and mumbled something unintelligible under his breath but remained quiet. Mac turned his small face up to Jack and put on his puppy face with an adorable pout. Jack sighed; Bozer was corrupting his well-behaved little boy.

"Now don't you give me those faces. It would be rude to leave without the others. It'll only be a few minutes, I promise," Jack said, kneeling down and looking both boys in the eyes. Bozer grumbled, Mac's small face fell, and Jack almost caved. What saved him was Max, Landers' oldest son, coming over to show the two boys a trick he could do to make a quarter disappear.

Not long after, all the other boys were in their costumes with Justin, Landers' youngest, bounding around the room and screaming about candy at the top of his lungs. Mac' big blue eyes watched his movements nervously, stepping back to hold Jack's hand. Bozer bit his bottom lip and shied away from the rowdy child.

Even though Justin was three years old and in the two boy's age group, both children tended to stay away from him and only interacted when they had to. Bozer found the boy who was younger than him quite bossy and obnoxious while Mac, being the quiet, skittish boy he was, just didn't like how loud he could be.

Jack absentmindedly stroked the back of Mac's head and allowed him to hide behind his legs when Justin got too close. By the time Justin screeched about not liking Snickers bars and Mac shuddered, Jack was praying Diane would hurry up so they could get outside and keep the boys separated.

Apparently, someone was listening upstairs, because just at that moments a herd of girls came running down the stairs. Riley, Sam, Zena, and Lacy, Landers' middle daughter, were all clad in girly pirate costumes. Desi bounded over to Mac and Bozer, who were still hiding behind Jack's legs, the fake sword on her back bouncing against her ninja costume.

"Are you ready to go trick or treating, boys?" she asked. Jack had to hold back a laugh. While Bozer acted all high and mighty and Mac had a mind of his own, Jack knew that they were both at Desi's beck and call. It was obvious to anyone that met her how much of a tomboy she was, not just because of her costume, but by her whole demeanor. From her short-cropped hair to her take charge attitude, Jack knew that Desi would one day be a bad-ass. Bozer was blatantly scared of her, taking "I say jump, you ask how high" to a whole other level. Mac wasn't exactly developed enough to realize how fierce she really was. While he was very well tuned with emotions, Desi was by no means harmful to Mac. She never even got all that bossy with him, for that matter. Mac merely followed her lead because Bozer did and Mac copied a lot of what the dark-skinned boy did to begin with.

For the first time, Mac shuffled away from Desi and Bozer. The house was now filled with ten children, not to mention all of the adults. Mac's big blue eyes began to fill with tears as they moved wildly across the room, trying to keep track of everyone. Jack felt his tiny fist tighten its grip on his pant leg.

Jack reached down and scooped the little boy into his arms. They had been worried about this. They had thought that all of these people and all of this activity would be too much for him to handle all at once, but his psychiatrist said it would be good for him. None the less, Jack allowed Mac to bury his face in his shoulder, his wight lab coat scrunching up until he looked like a marshmallow with blond hair.

Desi placed her hands on her hips and surveyed the scene in front of her. "Everyone needs to calm down. They're scaring Mac," she hissed, and Bozer nodded his head rapidly in agreement. With his free hand, Jack patted her shoulder. "It's alright, Des," he said, "Not everyone likes to be quiet like Mac does." The girl crossed her arms and huffed, shooting glares at the now whining Justin.

A sharp whistle broke through the cacophony. Immediately, everyone fell silent, even Justin. All heads turned to Landers. "Okay troops," he said in true military fashion, "Let's go get some candy." A cheer erupted from all of the children in the room, many of them pushing and shoving to be the first out the door. How they got voted to play host for Halloween preparations, Jack had no idea, but he could feel a headache coming on. What made it even worse was the fact that his own daughter was one of the rowdiest.

Jack stayed at the back of the group. He had to giver Bozer and Desi some credit. For only being four, they were not amongst the kids pushing and shoving but rather walking patiently along with Jack and Mac, even if their mouths never stopped babbling to each other. Mac remained firmly buried in Jack's shoulder, but for once Jack felt no tears.

0000

Part of the group stopped in front of a large beach style house overlooking the ocean. They had decided that since their little Halloween group was so big, it would be best if they went their separate ways. Some of the adults took the older kids while other split with the younger ones. Jack, of course, had to get stuck with the little kids.

Not that Jack didn't like little kids, that was evident by how much he loved Mac, but most kids weren't Mac. Most kids his age, especially when hyped up on an insane amount of sugar from all of the candy, were whiney and all around the main source of Jack's headache. Even Desi and Bozer, while originally calm and gentle, were now bouncing around like the others. The only one not, of course, was Mac.

Jack glanced down at the small boy clutching his hand like a lifeline. As all of the other kids ran up the front porch adorned with fake spiderwebs, Mac remained firmly next to Jack. Even after three blocks of houses, Mac still became nervous each time the door opened and someone new appeared. A part of Jack thought that maybe Mac believed his father was suddenly going to be one of those people, but he pushed it down, not wanting to believe.

The first house they got to, Jack refused to go up on the porch unless Jack accompanied him, but now, much to Jack's relief, the boy would go up with the rest of the children if pushed to do so. Jack nudged him gently.

"Go on up, Trooper, show them how beautiful you are in that costume," Jack teased, hoping to get a smile out of the boy

" 'M not bweautiful daddy, 'm handswome!" he giggled through sticky blue lips. He had a cotton candy Dum-Dum clutched in one small fist and had only eaten it after close ministrations from Jack, claiming that "Day could put somefing sarp in it!"

"Well you better scadaddle if you want more candy, handsome!" Jack said with a matching smile. Mac scuttled off to join the other kids on the porch, almost tripping over his own two feet on the way.

Throughout the night, Mac had gotten more than a couple compliments on his costume. Most were just to say how adorable he was, which Jack had to agree, but others were genuinely curious about why a toddler was dressed as a scientist and would ask him questions. When Mac spouted off something that sounded like it was out of a college chemistry textbook, the stunned looks on their faces was all Jack needed to start laughing. Once Mac grinned sheepishly and ran after one of his friends, Jack would lean in and quickly explain that he was not a normal child.

The person, of course, would nod profusely and agree. That wasn't all Jack was talking about though. The strangers didn't know it, but Mac was abnormal in other ways. Anyone who saw him in short sleeves and saw the fairly recent pink scar poking out could tell that.

0000

Once everyone had met up and headed home, the family, plus Desi, who of course lived right next door, Bozer and Sam, who were staying the night, sat in the living room. All of the children were seated on the floor, empty pumpkins tossed to the side and mounds of candy in front of them. Jack and Diane sat on the couch sipping coffee as they watched the kids trade and sort their candy with smiles on their faces.

"Ahh man," Bozer whined, "I got three boxes of raisins. You know that's just in-human."

"I'll take those," Sam said, her accent more pronounced due to excitement at the same time Mac muttered "Inhumane" under his breath. No one even blinked an eye at the toddler's correction.

"Riley, do you have any Twix?" Desi asked, her black eyes turning towards the dark-skinned girl imploringly despite the fact that she had already collected Twix from everyone else and now had pile of nine.

"Nope," Riley answered popping her 'p', "But I've got some Twizzlers you can have." Desi stuck her tongue out in disgust and turned away.

"Bozew, tan I tave youw Smawties?" Mac asked softly.

Bozer nodded, "Sure thing, but can I have your Milk Duds?"

Mac reached for the pack of Smarties but froze when everyone's heads whipped towards him.

"Milk Duds!" they all cried, eyeing the only pack that any of them had gotten. "Mac, I'll give you all of my Milky Ways for them," Desi offered.

"I should get them, I'm his best friend!" Bozer cried, pouting.

"Well I'm his sister so obviously, I should get them," Riley explained as if it were the simplest thing in the world. The four other children began to fight as Mac cringed away from them.

Sensing a meltdown, Diane intervened. "Children, it's Mac's candy and he doesn't even have to give them away if he doesn't want to, so let's all calm down and behave."

Mac shook his head and pushed the small box forward. "Day tan tave dem, but I do it faiwly."

Slowly Mac put his hands behind his back. He then looked expectantly at the others who stared back at him with a blank expression.

"Pit a numbew beteen one and den," he said softly.

"Six!" Sam cried out and the others were quick to follow her example. Mac then held out four fingers to the group. "Bozew wins pecause he got it itactly," Mac said excitedly, handing the small box to the older boy. He grinned as he clutched his prize.

"How was that fair? You could have changed the numbers so Bozer won," Desi demanded with a frown forming on her face.

Mac shrugged. "It was faiw pecause even doe Bozew's my fwiend, I 'tayed un-bias"

"What does that word mean?" Desi asked helplessly. Jack rolled his eyes at the fact that Mac could almost perfectly pronounce the word 'un-bias' but couldn't say 'number'. Diane leaned down to help the little girl.

"It means that he didn't pick sides or play in anyone's favor, sweetie," she explained. Desi screwed her face up.

"Then why didn't you just say that? You're such a smarty pants, Mac. I think it's kinda cute." The blond-haired boy's cheeks lit up with embarrassment at the fact of a girl calling him cute. Both adults rolled with laughter at the obvious crush the girl had on Mac and his obvious discomfort.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to have the chapter end on a lighter note since the beginning was hinting towards some pretty dark stuff.


	16. True Genius

_Previously:_

_"It means that he didn't pick sides or play in anyone's favor, sweetie," she explained. Desi screwed her face up._

_"Then why didn't you just say so? You're such a smarty pants, Mac. I think it's kinda cute." The blonde-haired boy's cheeks lit up with embarrassment at the fact of a girl calling him cute. Both adults rolled with laughter at the obvious crush the girl had on Mac and his obvious discomfort._

0000

Diane hustled both of her children down a long corridor. The walls were a clean white and the floor was polished hardwood. The whole length was decorated with ornate paintings and it smelled like a mixture of cleaning alcohol and lavender. The entire building, not just this hallway, screamed some type of medical facility.

They had had this appointment scheduled for weeks and Jack was supposed to take Mac while Diane worked, and Riley stayed with the babysitter, but it seemed luck was not in their favor. First, the sitter had cancelled, having to attend a mandatory lecture for one of her Social Services classes. Then, the night before the appointment, Jack had been called away to some foreign country where yet another mercenary group was trying to plot something to end humanity and the team needed to stop it, as usual. So, that left Diane scrambling to take a family day at ten o'clock at night. Sometimes she wondered what she had gotten herself into when she married Jack Dalton.

Nonetheless, Mac was going to be her legal son in only about five months' time, so she really did need a day to just spend with him. Even if Riley had ended up having to tag along and the better part of the day was going to be spent in a psychologist's office, Diane was thankful to finally just have both of her babies with her, safe and sound.

This appointment was not supposed to be a therapy session like Mac had with his psychiatrist, but rather a test of sorts. Matty had actually been the one who had recommended they have it done, seeing as Mac was so obviously advanced. Diane was just hoping everything would go on without a hitch for once.

The trio stepped into a surprisingly empty waiting room that looked much like the hallway they had just passed through. The only difference being the chairs, magazines, and way too peppy looking receptionist. Both children plopped down in chairs, Riley pulling out Diane's phone and Mac a Rubik's Cube Matty had gotten him when the woman had noticed he didn't like a lot of the normal electronic toddler toys. It still amazed Diane when she watched both of her children work. Riley was well beyond her years when it came to technology and something told Diane they would have to keep an eye on that once she got older or it could turn into something very dangerous.

Mac, on the other hand, showed little to no interest in electronics themselves, rather their innards. He loved taking things apart and analyzing all of the pieces as his pastime. Although, after the incident with Jack's phone, they only allowed him to take old or broken things apart while under adult supervision. The toddler practically devoured puzzles or anything that offered him a challenge. He had recently fell in love with the Rubik's Cube, solving it and resetting it dozens of times a day. He also had discovered the newspaper puzzles. Everyday once Jack was finished with the paper, he would turn it over to Mac to do the crossword, Sudoku, and cryptogram. Although it wasn't often, he completed the whole thing, especially the crossword puzzle, he would still spend hours with his small tongue poked out, the gears in his brain working overtime.

No matter how different both kids were, Diane knew in her heart that they would both one day go on to do extraordinary things because they were both brilliant in their own ways.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Diane crossed the room and approached the slim little receptionist behind the desk. Her pink blouse hung very low, revealing a little too much and her black mini skirt was definitely "mini". Diane tried not to even think about the destruction she was wreaking on her feet by wearing a pair of heels that had to be at least six inches high, if not more, and working at this place at least eight hours a day. Her bleach blond hair seemed about as fake as the huge smile she had plastered on her face.

"What can I do for you?" she asked, that sickly sweet smile still on her face. Diane tried to hide her distaste and put on a smile of her own, although much smaller.

"My son has an appointment with Dr. Meghan Kane. His name's Angus MacGyver," she replied hurriedly, peeking at her kids over her shoulder. Riley had made a grab for Mac's Rubik's Cube to which the toddler whined with displeasure. Hoping they would resolve it on their own, Diane turned back to the receptionist.

"Ah, yes, he's scheduled in fifteen minutes. I will need you to fill out some paperwork since he's a new patient. If you just take a seat the doctor will be out shortly," she said and handed Diane a clipboard with a ridiculous amount of papers stacked on it. Something in her tone told Diane she would rather be anywhere but where she was then.

"Thank you," Diane said tersely before grabbing the paperwork and heading towards the chairs. The two kids were now in a quiet squabble over the Rubik's Cube. If one thing told Diane that Mac was improving by leaps and bounds, it was the fact that him and Riley fought like siblings a lot more often now, especially since Mac was no longer scared of her hurting him and Riley had stopped walking on glass around him.

"Riley, give Mac back his toy and stop taking things from him. You have my phone to play with, so let Mac be. Mac, baby," she started, "We have to share, remember? If Riley wants to see your toy, you should let her."

Immediately, both kids stopped their fighting and turned back to their activities. Riley reached into her jean pockets and pulled out a pair of earbuds while Mac continued to solve the cube, his small hands flying. Diane turned to the daunting stack of papers in front of her and began to fill them out. Being a pediatrician, she knew all about new patient paperwork, but it didn't make it anymore fun when she was the one filling them out. Did they really need to know her phone number three times?

Before Diane had even put a dent in the paperwork, a woman in her early fifties emerged from a back hallway. She had brown hair with a few gray strands tied in a tight bun on the back of her head. She wore khaki colored dress jeans, a dark brown, flower print blouse, and beige flats. Her whole aura screamed psychologist, but her face was kind enough.

"Angus?" she called in a quiet voice. Diane stood and pulled Mac up with her. The doctor gave them an easy smile as they approached and reached out to shake Diane's outstretched hand."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Dalton, oh, and you must be Angus," she said, smiling at the pair and squatting down in order to be closer to Mac. It didn't take long for Mac's face to turn from shy and hesitant to irritated at the use of his first name. He wrinkled his nose up. This lady was just like the other smiling lady.

"I no wike Angus, pwease tall me Mac," he said with a slight grumble in his voice. Diane inwardly cringed. Mac despised his first name and got easily annoyed at the use of it. If Dr. Kane wasn't careful, she was not going to be high on Mac's list of favorite people.

"Sorry Mac, I didn't realize. You know something? My first name is Meghan, but I was just like you when I was a little girl. I, for whatever reason, hated my first name. I liked to be called Meg, so I can understand not liking your name. We can be like nickname buddies." Mac's face turned curious. "Weally?"

"Sure thing," the doctor answered with a smile before turning her attention back to Diane, "Once you've completed all of your paperwork, just return it to the front desk and I'll retrieve it later. For now, I think it's time we start the testing so we can get you guys finished as quickly as possible."

Diane gave Mac gentle push when the doctor started to head back the hallway she had just come from. "Go on, baby. You're okay."

"No, 'tay wif momma," he said adamantly, his bottom lip quivering as he gripped Diane's hand tighter. She sighed and picked him up in her arms. "I'll be right here baby," she whispered softly, "But I need you to be a good boy now and go with Dr. Kane. She's not going to hurt you. Plus, I didn't want to tell you, but I have a surprise for you when we're all done here."

"Suwpwise?" Mac squeaked excitedly. Diane smiled and nodded. She placed the toddler back on the ground after planting a kiss on his forehead. The doctor offered out her hand.

"Well, let's get this done and then you can see what your surprise is," she said mysteriously. Hesitantly, Mac took the offered hand and allowed himself to be partially led down the hall. Right before they turned the corner and would disappear out of sight, he turned back around and made a sign with his small hand. His pointer and pinky fingers were up as if making the rock and roll symbol, but his thumb was also extended.

The sign for 'I love you'.

Diane smiled and did it back, but this time held up two fingers when she was finished saying, 'I love you, too.' Mac beamed and turned back to the psychologist.

0000

"Okay Mac, this is really easy," Dr. Kane said, taking her seat at the table. The two were in a room that resembled nothing of the waiting room and looked as if a normal toddler had taken a bunch of different colored crayons to it. Two walls were a bright, Robin's egg blue color while the other two were a softer toned pastel green. The table they were currently sitting at was round with a polished wood top, the chairs matching with rainbow seat cushions. There wasn't much else in the room other than a few totes and shelves with all kinds of toys and devices for different types of tests. One of the walls was completely empty of any furniture. Instead, an African animal mural took up the entire space. Mac's toddler senses really liked all of the colors, but his rational, mature side found it all a bit overwhelming.

Dr. Kane pulled a few different books of varying difficulty out of her bag and set them on the table. She picked up the first one in line and handed to Mac, pulling out a clipboard, pen, a timer, and a copy of her own.

"Alright, this is how this is going to work. You're going to read that book as best as you can while I follow along. I'm going to set a stopwatch to see how long it takes you to get through the book, but I don't want you to pay any attention to that. Just do your best, okay?"

Mac nodded his head hesitantly and opened the book entitled "The Very Hungry Caterpillar". "Whenever you're ready," Dr. Kane said. She pressed the start button on her stopwatch as Mac began to read, hesitantly at first, and then growing more confident as he went.

"In da wight of da moon, a wittle egg way on an 'eaf," he started, "One Sun'ay mownin' da wawm sun tame up and-pop!-out of da egg tame a tiny and vewy hungwy catewpillaw."

Mac continued reading until he finished the book and placed it gently back onto the table. Dr. Kane stopped the timer and, with a bit of amazement, recorded the boy's reading time down onto her clipboard. He had finished the book in just under three minutes.

She gave him a gentle smile and pushed another book towards him, this one entitled "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" He read this one, and yet again, did it in an impressive amount of time. Dr. Kane ended up having him read two more books entitled "Corduroy" and "For the Love of Autumn". On both, he read them almost perfectly. She even ended up having him read the first few pages of "The Boxcar Children" just for fun. While he did stumble a few times while reading it, he by no means completely messed it up.

Next, she pulled out a few sheets of paper. After a moment of gazing at the paper, she eyed the toddler.

"So, Miss Matty informed me that you have a really good memory whenever you hear something spoken. That's so cool because I actually have something here to see just how good it is. I'm going to list off a few numbers and I want you to repeat them backwards. Each time you do it without messing up, I'll add a few more numbers to the list. Do you think this is something you can do?"

"I fink doe," Mac said quietly, fidgeting with his small fingers in his lap.

"Okay then, let's start out with something simple. 12345," she stated.

"54321," Mac muttered back as if he didn't even have to think about it. Dr. Kane made a note of it on her chart.

"How about 56472?"

"27465."

"Alright now let's add some more. "5647233019."

Mac didn't even blink twice. "9103327465"

Dr. Kane just shook her head in amazement and continued on. Never in her years as a child psychologist had she met someone so young yet so exceedingly advanced. His memory alone was just absolutely astounding. They worked for the next twenty minutes, and still Mac didn't mess up a single number. Eventually, once they had reached over two-hundred numbers, the doctor decided that he most likely wasn't going to mess up any time soon and called it quits on that part of the test.

She scribbled some things on her now very extensive note sheet and looked back up after pulling a plastic box out of her bag. She opened it to reveal triangle-shaped blocks with varying patterns of red and white on each side. She then pulled out a ring with plastic note cards on it. After a moment of thought, she flipped past the beginner level puzzles and went straight to the more advanced ones. Mac watched her curiously before taking a look of his own once she had placed everything back down on the table.

The card she had chosen for him displayed a complex red and white designed octagon. Of course, the only tools the boy had were a bunch of different patterned isosceles triangles. He took one last glance at the card and then one into the box, rifled through it quickly, and pulled the desired pieces out. He poked his small tongue out as he worked and within two minutes, he had perfectly replicated the picture.

Dr. Kane thought she was immune to the little boy's abilities by now, but she found herself fighting against the urge to let her mouth hand open, not for the first time. This small boy was so far perfectly put together in all mental aspects. He was not any of the three main types of learners, auditory, visionary, or kinetic, but rather a well-balanced mix. His reading skills were beyond his years, as was his vocabulary. This just proved that he was also an amazing problem and puzzle solver.

Dr. Kane had him do three more puzzles before writing down her results and moving on to her final aspect of the test. Pulling out cards that were identical to the previous ones in all aspects but content, she flipped to the first one and showed it to Mac.

"Could you tell me which one is a t-shirt?" she asked. The card in question showed four small pictures, one being a t-shirt, one a pair of jeans, one a pair of socks, and the last a ballcap. The doctor could have sworn she saw Mac fight to roll his eyes. She couldn't blame him either. Even for a normal child his age that was an easy question. The toddler promptly pointed to the shirt and she flipped to the next card.

They did quite a few different cards, ranging from types of food to harder ones like which was the Parthenon. And, surprise, surprise, he got every single question correct. She put the finishing touches on her notes and stood up.

"Well Mac, I think that should do it. I just want to tell you that you did amazingly and that you are an exceptionally extraordinary child. Don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise. Now, what do you say we go find your mom and sister so you can find out what your surprise is?" Mac nodded eagerly and bounced to his feet, grabbing her hand, and all but pulling her out to the waiting room where Diane was flipping through a magazine and Riley was still on her mother's phone.

"Momma!" Mac cried happily and barreled towards her. She swooped him up with a big kiss to the cheek.

"Hey sweetie!" she answered with just as much enthusiasm. Mac wrapped his small arms around her neck and sighed as if being back in his mother's arms once again made him complete.

Dr. Kane cleared her throat in a not so subtle hint that she had information to relay to Diane. Diane placed the small boy back on the ground, much to his dismay.

"Why don't you go see what Riley's up to while I speak to Dr. Kane?" she offered. Begrudgingly, the blond-haired boy trotted off towards his sister.

"Let me just start out by saying that Mac is an exceptional child, more so than I've ever seen in my years of being a child psychologist. He is marginally advanced in all aspects that I tested. His reading level alone is already what I would say is at a normal fourth grade level and his vocabulary surpasses even that, though his pronunciations do still sound like someone his age."

Diane couldn't believe it. Obviously, she knew that Mac was exceptional, but she had never considered it to this degree. A two-year-old reading a fourth-grade level? Diane never would have dreamed.

"Of course, this test is not a reading on his IQ. He can't really be tested for that until he starts school, which is around the age his IQ will be set in place. With that aside, his memory is extraordinary. It's well beyond that of even a gifted adult. If I had to guess, he has an auditory photographic memory. His problem-solving skills amaze me. I'll just sum this up with saying your son just caught me off guard. He really is amazing," Dr. Kane finished with a kind smile on her face.

Diane couldn't help but smile back. "That he is," she said softly and shook the doctor's hand. "Thank you for everything."

"It was a pleasure to meet Mac. I can tell you he is going to do extraordinary things one day," she answered before shaking Diane's hand once again and heading back down the hall.

Diane turned to her kids. "Now, let's go see about this surprise."

0000

Carl Menshikov crouched behind some bushes, out of sight of the civilians enjoying their afternoon ice cream at Dairy Queen. In his hand he clutched a very expensive camera made for professional photographers, but today, it was being used for surveillance.

He snapped another shot of James' brat as he giggled over something the woman said. The little girl stuck out her caramel-covered tongue and both children giggled profusely. Carl took a few more pictures from different angles and stood to leave.

His gallery was quickly filling up with pictures of Dalton and his family. It was all for observation purposes, of course, at least until April. He was in charge of keeping tabs on them and updating James on their whereabouts.

They were so stupid. Jack Dalton was a freaking CIA agent and he couldn't even figure out that he was being tailed everywhere he went. They thought they were so smart for adopting Mac and giving him a "real family". Yeah, they would show them. After April first, he would see about just who was getting the final laugh when they were all dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I do apologize for how boring this chapter was. I just needed a filler. The only interesting part was the end and I only teased you with it anyway. I promise that none of the other ones are like this, though. Also, the books Mac read are real, so I didn't make them up and I take no ownership for them.


	17. Mac Gives Thanks

_Previously:_

_They were so stupid. Jack Dalton was a freaking CIA agent and he couldn't even figure out he was being trailed everywhere he went. They thought they were so smart for adopting Mac and giving him a "real family". Yeah, they would show them. After April first, he would see about just who was getting the final laugh when they were all dead._

0000

When Mac's daycare teacher had handed him a piece of lines paper with a cartoon turkey printed at the top and told him and all of the other kids to make a list of all the things they were thankful for, he had been confused.

It wasn't like he didn't know the definition of thankful. He could recite it from memory after he had one time read the dictionary aloud to himself so he would remember all of the words. "Pleased and relieved" or "expressing gratitude and relief". He understood the word itself, but there was a big difference between understanding the word and being able to apply it to one's own life.

He knew that Thanksgiving was coming. Daddy had told him all about the good food they were going to eat, and momma had taken him to the library so he could pick out some books about pilgrims. He knew all about the holiday. Friends and family were supposed to gather together and be thankful for the good things in their life. Apparently, momma's family was coming down to celebrate with them. He had never met any of them, but momma said they were going to love him just like everyone else did.

Riley said that they were his grandparents now. He didn't know exactly what you were supposed to do with grandparents, seeing as he had never had any, so when he had asked her, she had laughed at him. She said that they were supposed to spoil you and love you and they were definitely not mean. (Not that he had asked of course). She also said that she just called them Grammy and Pappy so he could too. He thought he was going to like having a Grammy and a Pappy.

But when he turned back to the paper in front of him, he drew a blank. What did he have to be thankful for? Certainly, they didn't expect him to write down that he was thankful for daycare. Why would he be thankful for daycare? His momma dropped him odd there most days on her way to work and 7:30 in the morning and often times one of them didn't pick him up until 5 that night. On top of that, all of the other kids were so loud and disgusting and immature. Just that morning he had watched one of the other boys wipe his nose with the back of his hand and then proceed to eat his snack without even washing them first like his momma made him do before he ate.

Speaking of snacks, that was another reason he had not to be grateful for daycare. They liked to feed the kids cookies and gummy bears, but those options just turned his stomach. He still didn't eat very much, and his doctor recommended healthier snacks. So, his momma always packed him a banana for his morning snack and a small bag of Goldfish for his afternoon snack. The daycare people also just assumed that all kids liked PB and Js and juice boxes. So, momma always packed him his own lunch of a ham and cheese sandwich with a small bottle of water.

What else was there? There was the fact that all of the adults treated him like a baby. They didn't understand when he tried to tell them that he really could read the small chapter book from his backpack and just shook their heads with a smile as if he were doing something silly. They thought he would actually enjoy putting wooden blocks through different shapes rather than building, say, a bridge out of them.

So, back to what he was thankful for. Was he supposed to be thankful for his father? He surely hoped not. He didn't care if he ever saw that man again or not. It made him shudder just thinking about him. He was still terrified of the man even though it had been months since he had seen him and they only time he talked about him was with the smiley lady with the lollipops. She thought it was a good idea for him to talk out his feelings about his father. He didn't really get it, but he would talk all she wanted if it meant he got his cotton candy Dum-Dum at the end.

That could be something he was thankful for. Lollipops. He really liked lollipops. It was the only candy he really even liked so sometimes he would find them hidden in spots where he was sure to find them around the house. When he asked momma, she had said that the candy fairy must have come to visit. The candy fairy visited Riley when she was his age. He was skeptical though. He swore that momma had a whole bag of just cotton candy ones hidden in her desk drawer. Besides, he didn't think lollipops were the right thing to put on his paper. It wasn't personal enough.

He could put down his toys, like his Rubik's cube and Newton and Euclid. He shook that thought away. He was grateful that Matty had gotten him the Rubik's cube, and he loved his two stuffed animals, but those weren't right either. He had a feeling that all of the other children were going to put down their toys and Mac was nothing if he didn't like to be unique. He didn't want to write something down that any other toddler would say.

Maybe he should put Paw Patrol down. The teacher had said to put something down that made them happy if they got stuck. Watching Paw Patrol definitely made him happy, but he wasn't sure that it made him happy in the right way. It amused him and entertained him, but it didn't make him _happy_ per say. It didn't make him feel warm inside like he did whenever momma kissed him, or daddy let him ride on his shoulders. It didn't make him smile like when Casey did magic tricks with a quarter or Riley played teacher with him and made him the student like he didn't already know all of the stuff she was "teaching him". He played along anyway though because it made Riley happy and he loved Riley. It didn't make laughter bubble in his tummy like when Bozer and him made a time machine out of a cardboard box or when Desi tumbled out of a tree after she got nervous when he showed up.

No Paw Patrol then. It wasn't like he exactly liked the TV anyway. Sure, he liked the parts that made up the TV, but the device itself had little to no interest to him. Most electronic in general were that way with him. He had been worried that that wasn't normal for a child, but when he had consulted momma, she had said that he was special. They adored him for it even. That had satisfied him for the moment, but he was now worried that "special" might just mean he was a freak like the mean man said. He would have to ask one of his parents when they came to pick him up.

Which, he realized with a quick glance to the Mickey Mouse clock on the wall, would be in the next couple of minutes. If he wanted to get this done before they came so it could be hung on the art wall over Thanksgiving, he needed to start thinking fast.

What was he truly grateful for in his life? He was only two after all and he hadn't lived much of a life so far anyway. Up until a couple months ago the only people he had known were his mean daddy and his mean daddy's even meaner friends. No one had ever been nice to him in his entire life. All they liked to do was hit him and do anything they could to him in order to inflict pain. He most definitely was not grateful for that. In fact, although he tried not to because his mean daddy said jealous little boys got punished, he was jealous of the other little kids who had never gotten hit by their daddy.

Although he would never in a million years wish that fate on someone else, no matter how much they despised the person, he sometimes wished that he could just experience all of the normal things other kids did. Like Bozer and Desi, who had never had an adult lay a hand on them in their entire lives. He even envied Riley sometimes, although he still absolutely adored her, because she had always been loved and cared for while he had been beaten and mistreated up until recently.

_Recently_. That had all changed when his good daddy had found him and taken him home. When he had gone back with his mean daddy, he had thought for sure that he was never going to see the rest of his new family again, but low and behold, good daddy came back for him.

Now that he came to think of it, these last few months had been the best of his life. He had gotten a taste of a normal childhood and now at least had a grasp on what it felt like to be loved. It all suddenly slammed into him like a pile of bricks. _That_ was what he was thankful for.

He was thankful for his new-found family. His goofy, protective daddy. His sweet, loving momma. His wild, fun sister. All of them. Not only them but the team with Miss Matty who called him Blondie and Casey who played with him. Bozer and Desi who dug for worms with him and taught him all about making puppy faces to adults to get what you want.

He now knew what he was thankful. So, he poked his small tongue out in order to help him concentrate and got to work writing his paragraph. When he was finished, he held it out in front of him and surveyed his work. He was trepidatious as to whether he had written down the right thing or not considering how long it had taken him to come up with the idea.

If he was being honest, he considered erasing it and starting over because he didn't want to get it wrong, but another quick glance to the clock proved that he was out of time and someone would be here to pick him up any minute. Fear bubbled in him. He didn't want to get it wrong and have momma and daddy mad at him when they read it after the holidays. There was nothing he could do about it now, though, as the parents started arriving.

To his surprise, a deep Texas accent rang out. Daddy hardly never picked him up, but it was always a welcomed surprise whenever he did.

"Hey, buddy, you ready to go. We gotta pick Riles up from her study club thing remember?"

He turned his attention back to his paper. Yeah, he knew he had made the right decision.


	18. Christmas In LA

_Previously:_

_He turned his attention back to his paper. Yeah, he knew had made the right decision._

0000

"What smells so good in here?" Jack asked as he stalked into the kitchen. He had just gotten home from yet another op, this one in France, and was looking quite haggard as he dropped his go-bag in the hall and collapsed into one of the kitchen chairs. Somehow though, he managed to plaster on a huge grin, despite the fact that he was clearly exhausted.

The op had been very unexpected. They had literally just gotten back from one three days prior before they were swept up into another one. It was especially surprising considering they were only a little over two-weeks away from Christmas.

"We're decorating Christmas cookies daddy!" Riley said excitedly as she bounced over with a plate full of haphazardly decorated Santas and snowflakes. Jack surveyed the cookies carefully before choosing a snowflake caked with silver sugar and taking a bite out of it.

"Hmm, these are some of the best cookies I've ever had!" Jack cried. "You did a real good job Riles!"

The Texan gazed over at his youngest who was sitting on the counter, under Diane's watchful eye, and leaning over a small tray of cookies with a container of sprinkles and a bowl of icing. Though, by the looks of his mouth, it seemed that more icing was being consumed by the toddler than actually going on the cookies.

"Hey buddy, how're you doin'?" he asked.

Mac gave him a big blue smile and swung his legs excitedly. "Detowating tookies!" As if to prove his point, he picked up a Christmas tree smeared with green icing and took a big bite out of it. He hummed with pleasure and wiggled his bottom on the counter.

"Alright, not too much mister or you'll make yourself sick," Diane said seriously. She knew that a lot of sugar tended to upset Mac's tender stomach. It wasn't that she was worried about having to clean up vomit or anything, she had done it plenty of times when Riley was sick, but rather she hated seeing Mac miserable.

"Can we go put the angel on the tree now? Can we? Please?" Riley begged, batting her eyelashes imploringly.

Jack raised his eyebrows. "Our tree's angel-less? We gotta fix that pronto," he demanded in a barely serious voice. Riley squealed and scuttled off into the living room where the seven-foot tree was inhabiting the large bay window.

By this time, Mac had managed to squirm his way down off of the counter and was now making his way towards Jack. He tugged nervously on the man's pant-leg and immediately got lifted off the ground in response.

"Mac, did you know our tree was angel-less? It's a tragedy!" Jack sighed dramatically tickling Mac's belly and causing the toddler to giggle. The little boy cuddled into Jack's shirt and sighed contentedly.

"We had to detowate da twee wif out 'ou, but we weft da andel off so 'ou tould put it on wif us," he explained. Jack nodded in understanding. "Well, now that was quite of ya'll. I'm sorry I couldn't be there to help decorate it."

"Dat's alwight daddy. 'ou were out peing a hewo," he said, adoration shining in his innocent eyes.

"I'm glad you think I'm a hero, buddy. Not everyone always does," he finished somberly, thinking back to some of their worst mission failures. There weren't a lot of them, but the few there were disgusted Jack. The most recent was, in his opinion, the worst of all. When James got Mac back. He would never forgive himself for that as long as he lived.

"'ou awe my hewo, daddy," Mac whispered softly into Jacks' chest. The man felt his heart swell and a burning behind his eyes that felt suspiciously like tears. Jack hugged the little boy tightly and kissed his head.

"Thanks bud." Jack would never admit it, but Diane was there as witness, that his voice had cracked with emotion as he said it.

The moment was broken up when Riley flew through the door and whined, "Daddy! Come on! We need to put the angel on the tree, or it won't be all done!" Jack chuckled and hoisted himself up with great effort. He hadn't mentioned it to anyone, though no doubt Diane would know soon enough, but the bruises covering his chest from getting a little too up and personal with a foreign mercenary were really starting to make themselves known. He really just wanted to go upstairs and sleep for the next twenty-four hours, but he would never disappoint the two little kids who were both so obviously excited to put the angel on tree.

Mac's eyes were especially lit up with joy. The whole ides of the Christmas season had him practically glowing with excitement. He took in all of the new things with wonder; even watching Jack put up the Christmas lights on the roof for two-hours straight. He just couldn't get enough of all of the festivities.

It made Jack and Diane extremely sad in a way. Mac had never experienced a Christmas until this year. What really tore at their heartstrings was the fact that Mac didn't even really know what Christmas was up until Diane had once again gotten him all kinds of books on the holiday. He would now go around the house spouting off random facts about the holiday. As much as Jack really didn't care about some of them, he made sure to listen intently and encourage Mac's talkativeness, especially with how happy it clearly made him.

It hadn't all been happy. There had been one bad night. A bad night where Diane cried into Jack's shoulder once they were in bed for a good twenty minutes. A night where Jack had to resist crying himself. It had been about a month ago, before Thanksgiving, and Diane had given each of the kids a piece of paper to write their list to Santa. Riley had gotten right down to it without hesitation, but Mac had given both adults a bewildered expression.

"Who Santa? Why we wite him a wetter?" he had asked in utter confusion. Both adults had stood in silent shock. Mac didn't know who Sant Claus was? He had never received even one Christmas present in his whole life? Diane had looked at Jack with watery eyes, but quickly blinked them away when Mac turned to her for help. Then, with great effort, the two adults had tried to explain to Mac who Santa Claus was.

Of course, Mac then refused to write a letter blatantly asking for toys. He considered it to be one of the greediest things he could have done and was sure he would be punished for it. It had taken the combined effort of Jack, Diane, and Riley to even convince Mac to write his letter. Even then it was still very small, and Jack had prodded him to add more stuff, but the toddler refused. He had said that the less toys he had, the more Riley would get and that had done it for Jack. He explained to Mac that it didn't work that way before hurrying off to punch his gym bag with fierce aggression in the basement. It was either the bag or James MacGyver's face and as much as he would prefer the latter, he was sort of worried about the repercussions. _Sort of._

Now, Jack was almost as excited as the kids for Christmas morning. Not because of the presents, but because he couldn't wait to see the look on Mac's face when he got all of his presents. It was sure to just light up his day.

But before that could happen, they had to put the angel on the top of the tree. If they didn't do it soon, Jack was sure Riley's head would blow off with agitation, if her incessant whining was anything to go off of.

All four members of the household gathered around the tree as Diane pulled the Angel out of the box and handed it to Riley, who always put the angel on the tree with Jack's help. The little girl gently took the porcelain angel in her hands. But instead of immediately going to Jack to be lifted in the air, she gazed longingly at the angel before hesitantly holding it out to Mac.

"You can put it on the tree, Mac, since it's your first Christmas here," she said with a small smile. Mac's small mouth fell open in an 'o' as he took the delicate tree topper from his sister. Jack placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder and lifted him into his arms without question. Mac squeaked and gazed back at his father.

"You got it? Can you put it on once I lift you higher?" Jack asked, his eyes crinkling around the corners as he smiled. Mac felt himself rising even further into the air and glanced down to get a good look at the ground. Probably not the smartest move for a genius. Even though he was barely seven feet in the air, it felt like miles to him as his heartbeat at a rabbit pace and fear swirled in his stomach. He could almost see the ground rushing up towards him as his head swam.

He did not like heights.

Scratch that, he was _terrified_ of heights.

He squirmed in Jack's arms, trying to get down and back to the safe, stable ground. "Doo high, doo high!" he whimpered and twisted around to plead with Jack.

"What's that bud? What's wrong?" Jack asked with concern, seeing the panic forming on Mac's face.

"Down, down now!" Mac panted. Jack quickly obliged and set him back on his feet.

"What's goin' on? What's got ya all fussed up?" Jack demanded worriedly. He could see the way Mac was still breathing heavily, not quite like he was about to have a panic attack, but close enough for Jack to be worried.

"Doo high," Mac whimpered, lowering his head in shame. His cheeks were alight with embarrassment as Jack took in what he said. Mac had worked so hard to not let anyone know about his fear of heights, but now it was out there in the open. They had already seen him in the hospital twice, all beaten and bloody, and he hadn't wanted this to just be another thing he was weak for. The mean man said being afraid was a sign of weakness.

"Okay, okay, everything is okay," Jack said quickly. Diane knelt down in front of the blond boy and softly rubbed his back.

"Do you not like being high up, Mac?" she asked softly. After a moment's hesitation where Mac was contemplating telling the truth or not, it all just sort of rushed out of him.

" 'ou pwobabee fink dat I scawed pecause of somefing mean daddy did, but dat not twue. I've always been afwaid of heights. I tould nevew tell pecause daddy says being afwaid means you'we weak, but I'm not so suwe dat's twue pecause daddy wied awot. I'm sowwy," he whispered.

Mac couldn't see it, but Diane and Jack shared one of their looks that was now dubbed "the anything to do with Mac look that isn't for young ears". They had been giving it to each other a lot lately and it was quite sad. Both adults were also getting tired of giving each other that look. Mac's life previous to coming to them just kept getting more horrid every detail they learned.

"You know what? I think being afraid of things makes you brave. Everyone is afraid of something but being able to admit it shows much more bravery than hiding the fear," Diane said. Mac's eyes widened in wonder. He had never though about it that way, but now that he did, it made perfect sense.

"Bwave?" he asked curiously, flicking his eyes up from their spot on the floor to meet her warm chocolate ones.

"Yes, brave. You are brave, Mac, braver than anyone your age," she said softly.

"No mowe high?" he asked cautiously

"No more heights," Diane confirmed. Mac looked at the angel that he still had firmly in his grasp and handed it back to Riley.

"Wiley not scawed of heights. See tan put da andel on da twee."

Riley shook her head fervently. "Nope, I'm not scared of heights, but I sure am scared of needles."

"Weally!?" Mac had to refrain from giggling. He wasn't the only one who was afraid of things!

"Yep, and guess what? Daddy's afraid of clowns!"

Jack gasped in shock as if Riley had just revealed a sacred secret. "Alright now, let's put the angel on the tree before you reveal anymore of my deep, dark secrets, you two little monsters!"

0000

2 Weeks Later

"-Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night!" Diane exclaimed as she finished reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas."

Riley clapped excitedly as if it were the first time she was hearing the story. It wasn't, of course, they read it every Christmas Eve, but it was just as magical for her as it was every year. Mac on the other hand, was a completely different story.

His eyes had been lit up all day, feeding off of the happy energy from everyone else, but now they practically sparkled. He had listened to Diane read the story with pure joy in his eyes. There, curled up on Jack's lap on the couch, Riley smushed between the two adults right beside him, a fire crackling warmly in the fireplace, and the remnants of his first taste of hot chocolate in his sippy cup, he had never been happier. None of the usual underlying, lingering sadness could be found in the toddler's eyes.

"Well, I guess it's off to bed then," Diane said, stroking Riley's still shower-damp curls back off of her face. The girl in question pouted and crossed her arms.

"I don't want to go to bed yet!" she whined, slumping down into the couch, "I bet Mac doesn't want to go to bed either."

He did, really, he did. It was already later than he would usually go to bed and he was struggling to keep his eyes open. All he wanted to do right then was get tucked in and drift off to sleep in his warm, comfy bed (even if the offensive rails were inevitable).

In response to Riley's claim, he gave a small kitten yawn and rubbed his eyes sleepily. Jack chuckled, "Unfortunately Riles, I believe Mac's mighty tired, ain't ya Trooper?" Mac gave a small nod and laid his head on Jack's chest to back up his point.

"Besides, the sooner you go to bed, the sooner Santa will be here to leave you all kinds of presents and fill those stockings up," Diane said brightly, "But he won't come until you go to sleep. Come on, I'll get you ready and daddy will be in to kiss you soon." Riley groaned as Diane pulled her up off of the couch and led her upstairs, her complaints still being heard even after her bedroom door was closed.

"Let's get you to bed," Jack whispered, picking Mac up with him as he stood. From his new position on Jack's shoulder, Mac had a perfect view of the four stockings hung above the fireplace. First was Jack's. It was an Army green color with his name embroidered on top in the same color. It showed two rifles crossed in an x inside the outline of Texas. Next was Diane's in a clean snowy color. Gold vines wove up the length of the stocking with her name matching at the top. After that came Riley's. It was a light periwinkle color adorning an elegant pony with roses in its mane. Last was the newest. It was a baby blue color depicting a cartoon train. What made it special to Mac though, was the labels showing the basic parts of the train and engine. All had been handmade by Jack's mom and she had never been happier to make one for her new grandbaby.

Mac barely registered brushing his own teeth or Jack tucking him into bed until Jack was about to turn off his lamp. Suddenly, Mac shot up into a sitting position and gripped the man's shirt through his rails.

"Daddy," he murmured. Jack turned back around and gently pried the toddler's hand off before reaching over to stroke his blond hair.

"I thought you were already asleep. What's on your mind buddy?"

"Wiley says dat Santa onee bwings pwesents to good kids," Mac stated softly.

"Yeah, where ya goin' with this?" Jack asked.

"Dust so 'ou know, 'm not getting any pwesents. 'm not a good boy," Mac said somberly.

Jack was momentarily taken aback. This was a completely different boy than the joyful toddler he had been only moments ago. "Of course, you're a good little boy Mac, who told ya you weren't?"

Even before it was completely out of his mouth Jack knew what the answer was going to be. He hadn't taken the time to think his response through and now his stupid mouth had talked before his mind told him to. No wonder Cooper said he had a big mouth.

"Dames," Mac whispered so softly Jack had to strain to hear him. Recently, Mac had been calling his father by his first name and his first name only. No more "daddy", "bad daddy", or even "mean man". It was just James. It was so sad the way he said it too. It made him sound like a weary adult rather than a distraught child.

"Mackie, your father was a…terrible man," Jack started out. He had to refrain from using some less child-appropriate words when describing James MacGyver, but somehow, he managed. "Believe me when I tell you that you are the most well-behaved little boy I have ever me. If any child deserves Christmas presents, it's you. Tomorrow when you wake up, I can guarantee there will be all kinds of presents waiting for you under the tree."

"Really?" Mac asked in amazement. His eyes were already beginning to droop once again now that his worries had been consoled.

"Really," Jack said firmly, "Now got to sleep. Try and shut that beautiful brain of yours off for once."

Mac gave a sleepy smile as Jack leaned down and kissed his forehead one last time. The last thought he had was if he would really dream of sugarplums like the story said.

0000

"Mommy, daddy, wake up! It's Christmas morning! Wake. Up.!" Riley bounced excitedly on the two adult's bed and vigorously shook both of their shoulders. With a groan, Jack rolled over to get a good view of his alarm clock. 7:27. Usually he preferred to get in some extra sleep on the days that he didn't have to hunt down some new scumbag, but he had been expecting this. Riley always had them up bright and early on Christmas, so she didn't have to wait to open her presents. Actually, it was a bit later than usual. Jack just thanked his lucky stars it wasn't 6 AM like previous years had been.

"Al'ight, al'ight, hold yer horses. We're gettin' 'ere darlin'," Jack said, his southern accent becoming much more pronounced with sleep.

"There's no "we're" about it. You got to give daddy some time to get all his joints working. He's getting up there in age," Diane said teasingly. She was already up out of bed and tying her silk robe around her waist.

"Hey now, let's see you take down a two-faced foreign ambassador after chasin' him for three miles through the woods and see how your joints work," Jack said, sitting up and stretching. As if to prove her point, his knee chose that exact moment to let out an offensive pop. Diane rolled her eyes and Riley giggled.

"You two keep laughin' and see who's gonna kill the spiders from now on," Jack grumbled. This only caused Riley to laugh harder. Jack smirked despite himself and shoved her shoulder gently. "Not like I'm changin' the subject or anythin', but is your brother up yet?"

Riley shook her head. "I don't think so. There's no noise coming from his room and he hasn't asked to be let out of his bed yet." Suddenly she brightened up as an idea came to her. "I can go wake him up!"

She went to bounce off the bed, but Jack managed to catch her around the waist just in time. "Slow your roll. Why don't you and mommy go downstairs and get ready to open presents while I get Mac? We don't want to spook him on his first Christmas, do we?"

Riley nodded in disappointment before immediately regaining her spunk and bounding off down the hall, Diane close behind. Jack heard the little girl squeal with delight when she first saw all of her presents and he couldn't help but smile. He just hoped that Mac was as happy as she was when he took in all of his presents.

When he finally got himself up and down the hall to Mac's room, he knew he had made the right decision in sending Riley downstairs. All they needed was for an exhilarated Riley fueled by Christmas magic to go bursting into Mac's room and scare the living daylight out of the toddler.

He found that Mac was indeed still asleep. His nose was buried in his hippo and his soft blue blanket was tangled around his legs from tossing and turning. Jack went over and pulled the railing down after gently shaking the little boy awake.

"Merry Christmas, Little Buckaroo!" Jack said brightly. Mac yawned and scrubbed his eyes before making a grabby motion at Jack. Jack bounced him on his hip with a bright smile, his pajama-clad feet swinging in the air.

"Mewwy Chwist-mas, daddy," Mac answered, struggling to get the words out of his mouth, still sleepy and only half-awake. Jack smiled and rubbed his knuckles gently against the blond boy's cheek to help him wake up.

"Let's go see what Santa brought, yeah?" Jack questioned. Mac laid his head back on Jack's chest as they descended the stairs, but it shot back up when the living room first came into view. Presents surrounded the tree in mounds, some being taller than Mac himself. Each one was labeled with someone's name. While a handful had Jack or Diane's name on them, most bared either his or Riley's name. All four stockings were stuffed until they looked like they would burst. A light snow was even dusting the ground outside the window. It wasn't often that it snowed enough in LA to stick on the ground and it was even rarer for it to happen on Christmas so anyone could imagine the kid's excitement.

In the middle of it all sat Riley, wiggling with anticipation to open her presents. Her face lit up even more when she saw Mac and Jack, if that were even possible, and she squealed "Merry Christmas, Mac!"

Mac wasn't paying any attention to her though, his eyes were as big as quarters as he gazed around the room. His mouth hung slightly agape. For a moment, Jack was worried he might actually go into shock until the boy's face broke into a grin.

"What do you say we open some presents?" Jack inquired with a grin. Riley squealed with delight and dove into the pile of presents, emerging with two. She held one out to Mac who had squirmed his way out of Jack's arms before ripping into her own. Mac glanced back hesitantly at Jack who nodded encouragingly. Mac began to rip into his gift, though with much less vigor and more caution than Riley. After all of the paper was cleared away, it revealed a toy dump truck equipped with a few different sound effects. Riley was already well into her pile of presents and was surrounded by a plethora of doll clothes, Barbie furniture, and new shoes. Mac grinned excitedly and reached back into the pile, following her lead.

0000

A little over an hour later, the room was unrecognizable. It was littered with torn wrapping paper, ribbons, and new toys. Riley had been the first to finish tearing into her presents seeing as Mac was afraid of breaking anything. There was only one present left under the tree, and it was labelled with Mac's name.

The toddler gently pulled the paper off and was immediately met by a familiar shiny white cover. He ripped the rest of the paper off and softly touched the photo album that had once been in James' attic. He didn't hesitate to open it and run his fingers over the inscription he already had memorized in the front cover.

Mac looked up quizzically at the two adults. Riley was a little too preoccupied by her new doll stroller to pay much attention to everything else. Both adults smiled at him and Diane slid off the couch to pull him into her lap.

"Daddy's team found this at James' house. It was already outside of a box, so they figured you had already seen it. Miss Matty figured you might want it so you could always remember your biological mommy even if you can't remember her," she explained softly. She left out the part about Matty having to practically threaten to fire the officer running the evidence room in order to get it, but eventually, she did.

"Mommy," he whispered longingly. It was the only time they had ever heard Mac address someone as "mommy". It had always been "momma" with Diane. They had figured it was easier for him to say or something, but now he said it with perfect ease. Even though he clearly loved Diane with all his heart, he had apparently been holding the term for his real mommy.

Diane gave him a sad smile. "I bet she's so proud of her little genius," she said kissing his temple, "I know she's watching over you from Heaven right now."

Mac hugged it to his chest before carefully setting it aside for later. Jack had mysteriously disappeared during the exchange and now Riley had even noticed his absence.

"Hey, where's daddy?" she demanded. As if on cue his southern drawl spoke from the hallway. "It looks like Santa brought one more present."

Both children exchanged a curious look before the sound of nails against a hardwood floor could be heard skittering into the room. A small brown blur launched itself at the two who had moved to sit beside one another.

"A puppy!" Riley screamed.


	19. Just A Normal Family Christmas

_Previously:_

_"A puppy!" Riley screamed._

0000

Jack wasn't sure which was worse: waking up at the crack of dawn to fly off to a new foreign country to fight some new threat or waking up at the crack of dawn to make an 8 AM flight with a grumpy seven-year-old dragging her feet and a half-asleep toddler in his arms.

Jack was starting to think it was the latter.

Mac wasn't that bad. He had been a little slower that morning and had taken a bit more prodding than usual to get going, but besides that, he was silent. Although that could have had something to do with the fact that he was passed out on Jack's shoulder, his blue blanket even wrapped around him and stuffed giraffe under his arm. Jack was more than happy to carry him if it meant he stayed asleep. It wasn't like he weighed all that much to begin with.

Riley was the real problem. Jack loved his little girl more than anything in the world, but she was really starting to grate on his nerves. It wasn't unusual for her to be a bit grumpy when woken up so early, but it was unusual for her to be so out right moody and whiny. She was always ecstatic to the point where she could barely sit still longer than a few minutes when they were on their way to visit Jack's family. But today, she was dragging her feet and groaning about how early it was.

Though neither had been happy to leave the newly dubbed Archie (or Archimedes according to Mac) with Casey while they were gone, Riley had been the one to put up the most fight. This had actually been surprising. They had expected Mac to have a hard time leaving the puppy behind with all of his separation and abandonment issues, but he had actually been relatively calm when he found out Casey was taking care of the little mutt. Riley had not at all been happy and had nearly thrown a temper tantrum worthy of someone Mac's age.

Riley had whined when Diane told her she needed to pull her own suitcase this year because Jack had one of his arms full of a sleeping genius. Currently, she was complaining that her legs were tired, and they were barely even through the airport doors.

Even though it was only six in the morning, the airport was already bustling with activity. People were running from terminals to restaurants to waiting areas like they were really late (which undoubtedly some were). Even though she had been coming to LAX since she was still in diapers, it was clear on her face that Riley was still in awe. All of the colors, sounds, and movements could be pretty overwhelming for an adult, let alone a child. Jack didn't know whether Mac would have been overwhelmed or amazed. He was just glad the boy was out like a light and they wouldn't have to find out.

It seemed that Riley suddenly remembered she was supposed to be grumpy because she glared at the ground and trudged on. Diane reached for her hand, but she roughly jerked it away and kept her gaze down. A hurt expression crossed the woman's face. She knew that one day would come when her daughter would no longer want to hold her hand, but she had never expected it to be today. She just decided to chalk it up to whatever mood the little girl seemed to be in.

"I'm gonna go check out the departure boards and see what terminal we're in," Jack said softly as to not disturb the little bundle in his arms. Diane nodded before pointing to a sitting area in silent message that they would wait over there. Riley begrudgingly followed her over to a plush brown couch while Jack went off in the opposite direction.

Diane took this as her opportunity to pounce. She turned to Riley and gently cupped her daughter's face in her hands. When she tried to jerk away, Diane ever-so-gently tightened her grip.

"What's wrong," Diane demanded in a tone that conveyed no nonsense yet was still soft in only a way that she could. She released Riley's chin and the girl immediately jerked her head down to look at her lap.

"Nothing," she muttered dismally.

"You know you can't lie to me. I can see right through you. You know why? Because you're my daughter and I know you better than anyone else," Diane said gently.

Riley glared at her hands and said nothing. She toed the tile under her foot and tried her best to not let her gaze flick to her mother.

"So, why don't you tell me what's going on?" Diane prodded gently, Riley huffed, but Diane managed to catch her gaze. The little girl's attitude melted away and was replaced by a sad expression. She leaned into her mother and cast her gaze down once again.

"It's dumb," she muttered.

"It's not dumb if it's making you upset baby," Diane answered.

Riley sighed softly before looking up into her mother's eyes, her own glistening with tears. "I…it's…" she groaned in annoyance as she tried to find the right words. "I don't want Nana to forget about me," she finally settled on.

Diane looked at her sympathetically, finally realizing what this was about. She had experienced the exact same thing when her little sister had been born, not just with grandparents, but with her own parents and most of the family.

"And because Mac is the newest member of the family and this is the first time he is meeting Nana, you're worried that Nana will love him more now," Diane finished for her. It wasn't hard for her to figure out what her daughter was thinking.

Riley nodded solemnly, keeping her gaze down in shame. Diane put her arm around her and pulled her close. "Your Nana could never love any of her grandchildren more than the others, and that's saying something considering she now has 23 grandchildren including Mac. There is so much love in Nana's heart that there is room for both you and Mac."

"After 7 kids, 23 grandkids, and a great grandkid, you really think there's still room in Nana's heart?" Riley asked sheepishly.

Diane nodded thoughtfully, "I do. Nana is a very loving person and someone like that always has room for more people. Let me ask you this: Before Mac came around, did you ever feel like you were missing someone in your heart?"

"I don't think so," she answered slowly.

"And you love him?"

"Of course!" Riley demanded quickly.

"Well then there you go. You didn't feel like you needed anyone else in your life, but when Mac came around, you were able to open your heart and spread your love to another person. You're a lot like Nana in that sense. One more thing you need to keep in mind: Mac's never had a proper family. Until he came to live with us, it was just him and his daddy and his daddy was very mean to him. This is just as new for him as it is for you so you'll both have something to get used to," Diane explained.

"We can get used to it together!" Riley squealed, already back to her normal self. Diane nodded with a smile. The moment was interrupted by a loud growl from Riley's stomach. She smiled with embarrassment as Diane pulled out a five-dollar bill.

"Here, go get something from the vending machine over there. You'll get plenty of proper meals when we get to Texas, especially if Nana has anything to say about it," Diane said with a laugh. Riley took the bill and ran over to the machine, which was still well in Diane's line of sight, she made sure of that.

0000

Carl watched the Dalton girl run over to a vending machine over the top of his magazine. He had been following the family around since Halloween, and while he wanted to please his boss, he was admittedly starting to get bored with all of the surveillance. He was not a man of patience; he was a man of action. It would have been a much more pleasing task if he had been told to kidnap the boy or kill the whole family, but _no_ , the boss _had_ to put him on surveillance.

He was even expected to fly all the way to Texas with them and keep an eye on them there to make sure they hadn't somehow found out and were now on the run. He hated this. He didn't want to just watch them and make sure they didn't go under the radar. He wanted to do something.

His eyes flicked over to where Mrs. Dalton was sitting and keeping a close eye on her daughter. The airport was very crowded, and it would be very hard for someone to do anything to the girl. Hard, but not impossible. Dalton himself decided then was the perfect time to come back from checking the flight departure board. The little blue bundle was still securely in his arms, the little brat softly sleeping on his shoulder. If he had cared enough, he would have wondered how the child managed to stay asleep with the noise level and amount of activity. That was if he cared. Which he didn't.

The only thing keeping him from getting up and leaving right then and there was the fear of his boss. He needed to please the man, or he would hurt his little girl. She was all he had left after her mother had passed and he couldn't let anything happen to her. Most people would assume that just because he was a cartel hitman that he was incapable of loving someone. That wasn't true; his little girl was his entire world, but if he didn't do exactly what the boss told him, he would kill her without any hesitation.

Then again, he would be doing the boss a favor if he got rid of the girl. The family would be so distraught it would be easy for them to ambush the family and take them all out. Maybe he could just take her? He didn't need to kill her. They might even be able to use her as leverage somehow.

Calmly, he folded the magazine closed and made his way towards the vending machines as if he were just passing through. With a quick glance towards the sitting area, he saw that James' spawn had apparently had a nightmare or something because the woman had momentarily looked away to comfort the boy. This was his opportunity to make his move.

He quietly walked beside the little girl and grabbed her arm before she had time to react. Pulling her behind the machines and putting his hand firmly over her mouth, he leaned down towards her ear. He couldn't see her eyes, but he could feel tears wetting his hands and he was sure there would be pure fear in her childish eyes.

"Stay quiet or I'll kill you," he hissed so softly even if someone was right beside him, they wouldn't have been able to hear, "Do you understand?"

Riley nodded with sobbed muffled by the hand. She was a loud, outgoing girl and daddy always said she was brave, but she didn't feel very much like it right now. She had never been so terrified in her life. She wasn't stupid by any means either. She had heard some of the things daddy told mommy about work, some of the horrible things that happened to kids just like her. Mommy and daddy were constantly warning her about stranger: don't talk to them, if someone tries to do something, draw attention to the situation, and above all, if you see an opening, try anything you can think of to get away.

Thankfully, she remembered this. She couldn't draw attention to the situation with her mouth covered and being hidden from sight. She could, however, try something to get away. She thought back to all the times Sam had jokingly covered her mouth to stop her talking and how she would always lick her hand to get away. She had a feeling that that wouldn't work in this situation, but biting might.

Before she could have another thought, she bit down on the man's hand as hard as she could. He withdrew it with a howl of pain, and she took the opportunity to scream.

"Daddy! Help! Daddy!" she managed to scream out before the hand was once again over her mouth

"Shut up, shut up!" he growled. With his free hand he nervously pulled at his hair and twitched. He had forgotten what the thrill of his work did to him. Suddenly he remembered why the boss had put him on surveillance. The voices in his head only came out when he did things like this. The boss said the voices liked to lie to him, so he kept him away from all of the fun things. It was for his own well-being. If the government found out about the voices, they would lock him up and take his little girl away. The boss was just protecting them. Wait, no, those were the voices.

He growled in frustration and pounded on the side of his head. His eyes flew up wildly when Dalton raced behind the machines. The agent didn't hesitate to pull out his gun.

"Get the hell away from her!" Dalton snarled, a hatred so deep and scary in his eyes that it was like nothing Carl had ever seen before. It was a rage that only a parent hell-bent on protecting their child at any cost could hold.

"No, no, no, I can't, he'll hurt my little girl. He'll be angry when he finds out I've messed up," Carl demanded, a wild look in his eyes. Suddenly, he stiffened, and his eyes hardened.

"No, he'll be proud. He is protecting your daughter and you will be rewarded for this," he argued with himself, his voice even deepening and becoming gravelly.

If Jack hadn't been so blindsided by rage, he might have raised his eyebrow and thought this guys was a total looney bin, but as it was, the man had threatened his little girl and that was a fatal mistake. It had unleashed a deadly beast. The guy was still a total looney bin, though.

At this point, airport security had been attracted to all of the commotion and three officers were beside Jack, there guns also drawn. This didn't seem to faze the man. He continued to twitch and muttered to himself, his facial expressions changing as if he were multiple people.

"Let. Her. Go!" Jack snarled, his body language conveying that he would lay his whole clip into the man if he so much as moved the wrong way.

"I-I can't," Carl stuttered, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

Maybe if this situation had been happening to anyone else, Jack would have laughed at the fact that security didn't even question who he was or why he had a gun. It wasn't like they knew he worked for the CIA. Maybe they were just wary of him, thinking that he could turn crazy if they said the wrong thing. Maybe he would or maybe he wouldn't, all he knew was that he had to save his little girl and protect his wife and son at all costs.

"Sir, we're going to need you to let the girl go. We won't shoot if you do so," the first guard insisted calmly.

Carl contemplated for a moment. He could already feel the adrenaline from the fun he just had draining out of him. The voices were starting to quiet down until they were only whispers and his vision was becoming less cloudy. He didn't want to hurt the little girl. What if it was his little girl someone was holding captive? He would do anything in his power to save her. He didn't want to cause another father that kind of pain.

Slowly he let her go and she raced for her father who brought her into a bone crushing embrace. She was crying and shaking, and he was doing his best to comfort her. Carl inexplicably felt guilty and he turned away, only to be facing two airport security guards who slapped him in handcuffs and led him to a holding room.

0000

Three hours later, the team had come to apprehend Carl and he was now in CIA custody. Matty had some techs find out more about him to know if he was a threat or not. His full name was Carl Richards. He had DID or Dissociate Identity Disorder. He had a six-year-old daughter named Eliza whose mother had been murdered when she was two. After that, because if her father's DID, she had been taken from him and put into the custody of a Nikki Reed. He bounced from job to job a lot, never staying at one more than a couple of months. A lot of months he stayed at group homes or such, never having enough money to meet the rent at the few apartments he managed to acquire. None of it seemed like he was a threat to the family, just your normal run-of-the-mill weirdo. It seemed to be just bad luck that he had chosen Riley to try and assault. After some time, Matty had finally given them the go ahead to head to Texas, not seeing any need for protective custody.

They had already missed their original flight and jack had ended up calling his mom and telling her they would be late due to problems at the airport. It wasn't exactly a lie; his mom just didn't need to know this kind of stuff; all she would do was worry anyway.

Riley had been pretty shook up and hadn't stopped clinging to Jack since it happened. He was okay with that because if he was being honest, he didn't want to let go of her either. It had been just as scary for him as it had been for her, maybe even as scary as the time he found Mac in the boiling attic not breathing. She had ended up getting checked out by medics who were already there. They had given her a clean bill of health besides maybe a bit of shock, but Jack was still worried about her. She had changed between crying and shaking for the first half-hour and then had just silently held on to him.

It hadn't been until Mac had cautiously went up to her and put his small arms around her that she calmed down. Mac had not had a good reaction to everything going on and he too had gone semi-mute, but being Mac, he still felt guilty even if he did nothing wrong.

"It's otay Wiley. Da bad man gone now," he had whispered softly. She had cried and slid to her knees to return his embrace.

"I'm sorry Mac," she had whispered.

Mac had given her a confused look. "Why sowwy? 'ou did nofing wong. I do somefing wong?"

She had given him a weak smile and shook her head. "Never mind."

They were now standing in the Fort Worth National Airport waiting for Jack's sister to come and pick them up. Riley had seemed okay enough since Mac had approached her. She wasn't bouncing around, but she was messing with Mac's perfect blond locks and clearly agitating the boy. Jack couldn't help but smile because he knew that she would be just fine. Kids tended to do that, especially brave, tough girls like Riley. They could bounce back from a lot of things much quicker than any adults, even something like this. Jack was by no means going to stop keeping a very close eye on her, but he wasn't particularly worried.

Finally, Jack's older sister Sally arrived. It was now time for him to turn from comforting his daughter who, with renewed enthusiasm, had run off to see her aunt and comfort his little boy who was practically trembling behind his hands.

"Hey. You're okay," he started softly, "We talked about this. You're going to meet a lot of new people but none of them will ever lay a finger on you, remember? That's my sister and your Aunt Sally. We trust her okay?"

Mac nodded and placed one shaking hand in Jack's large one. He held Euclid, who had been dug out of Mac's carry-on, tight against his chest as they approached the woman. When she saw the pair, her face broke into a grin and she knelt down to see Mac up close.

"Why, is this my new nephew?" she asked, her southern accent even thicker than Jack's. Jack gave her a smile and squatted down with her in order to give Mac's back a gentle rub.

"Sure is. Sally, this is Angus MacGyver, but he much prefers Mac," he added quickly upon seeing Mac's disgusted look, "Mac this is your Aunt Sally.

"I-It's nite to meet 'ou," Mac said quietly, his nervous hands having nothing to do but twist at the hem of his red and black plaid shirt.

"It's so nice to meet you too, sugar. We've all heard so much about you. Come give your Auntie a hug," she said cheerfully.

"Sally, I don't know if that's…" Jack trailed off as Mac hesitantly stepped forward only to be swung up in the air by Sally. For one horrible moment Jack thought Mac would scream from the height or being surprised, but to his amazement, the blond boy only giggled.

"That's right, I'm your cool aunt, no matter what Rose says," Sally said winking at Jack and carrying off a laughing Mac. Diane looked at Jack with a surprised look, but he only shrugged. Mac was just full of surprises.

0000

Not too long after, Mac had met most of Jack's family. While initially terrified at all of the people, the toddler had eventually settled into the motions when on e relative after another popped up. Mac seemed so apprehensive to the whole situation, not quite believing he had all of the aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Still, there was one last person Mac hadn't met. To everyone's surprise, Jack's mama had allowed everyone else to meet Mac before making her presence known.

"Alright now everyone, skedaddle, I want to meet my new grandbaby," Bethany Dalton said from the back of the crowd. They suddenly all parted as if she were royalty (though she kind of was in their family.)

Bethany Dalton did not appear the motherly type. Barely hitting five feet four inches, she was smaller than most of the adults. Her pepper gray hair was tightly thrown up in a wild mess and held up by a large hair clip. Her skin was brown from the sun and her eyes were stubborn with a no-nonsense look. Her flowery dress may deceive a lot of people, but everyone in the family knew that she could comfort a scared child as well as she could wield a shotgun. That was just Bethany Dalton.

"Well hello there, bubba," she said in a soft tone that she reserved only for the youngest of her brood. Mac clung to Jack's pantleg as if that were his lifeline. This woman reminded him of an older, southern version of Miss Matty. While he trusted Miss Matty, he didn't know if this woman counted. Even so, she was his Nana, right? You were supposed to trust your Nanas.

"It's alright honey cakes, I ain't gonna hurt ya," she continued, walking slowly towards the little boy. Jack had told her enough about the little boy for her to know that he was damaged and in need of some serious TLC from his Nana. Someone had hurt a member of her family and that just didn't fly in Mama Dalton's book.

"N-nana?" Mac whimpered curiously.

Bethany nodded encouragingly. Mac cautiously tip-toed towards her before realizing everyone was watching him and sprinting forward. He didn't even hesitate to bury his face in her skirt and hide from the world. Bethany, while mildly surprised, also didn't hesitate to pick him up and set him on her hip. She could now feel how thin he was. It wasn't an unhealthy thin like Jack had first described to her, but it wasn't right for his age either. Well, she would just have to do something about that.

"We've got to get some meet on your bones," she said jokingly. Mac just stared at her in a confused way.

"Mama, we've been tryin' but he can't eat all that much," Jack explained.

"Hush Jack," she shushed before turning back to the toddler still in her arms. "Have ya ever had peach cobbler bubba?" she asked before carrying him off towards the kitchen. Jack smiled; his momma would make sure Mac ate good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you notice the little things I slipped in? Mac once mentioned in the show that he had a mutt named Archimedes as a kid. And who took care of Carl's daughter? Nikki Carpenter! Is she behind all of this?


	20. Sick Day

_Previously:_

_"Hush Jack," she shushed before turning back to the toddler still in her arms. "Have ya ever had peach cobbler bubba?" she asked before carrying him off towards the kitchen. Jack smiled; his mama would make sure Mac ate good._

0000

Jack woke up and viewed the clock: 2:34 AM. He groaned and pinched his nose momentarily before the pressure from the remnants of his nasal congestion made themselves known. He had just gotten over a bad cold with most of the symptoms gone, but the stuffiness had decided to stick around and torment him for a few days.

Everyone that he knew was getting sick. Most of the team had been out at some point or another with the flu, even Matty herself, and his own family was no exception. Diane had to pick Riley up from school about two weeks prior when she had thrown up in the nurse's office. She was now back to 100%, but that didn't mean it made it any easier to see your child ill. Diane had gone next, waking up with fever one morning and calling off work for two days in a row. She had said it didn't surprise her. Even if she had gotten the flu shot, she was still constantly around sick kids, and it was flu season after all.

That had been less than a week ago. Jack had thankfully only gotten a cold with no fever or throwing up, but that didn't mean that he wasn't miserable. How could he not be when it felt like his brain was trying to pound out of his sinuses? Now, Diane was off at a medical conference in New York that he hadn't even been sure she would be able to attend with her illness. In the end though, she had fought him tooth and nail and eventually, he surrendered.

That left him home alone with both kids. If an op happened to crop up, Diane's parents would have to drive down to watch them while he was away, but so far, nothing had. He was both happy and exhausted with the fact that he had both kids to look over. Happy, because he got to spend quality time with both of his kids. Exhausted, because with Riley's boundless energy and Mac's infinite curiosity, he definitely had his hands full.

But he was now supposed to be having a boy's weekend with Mac. Sam's family had taken Riley to their beach house to celebrate her belated eighth birthday and she wouldn't be back for two days. Mac had been so excited to find out that it was just going to be the two of them that Jack had had a hard time getting him settled down enough to go to bed. Jack was excited too, though. It wasn't often that he got to spend quality time with just one member of his family, and he was grateful for the chances whenever they came.

Mac, knock on wood, had evaded any illness. They were all glad for it too because it had been hard enough seeing him sick after the heatstroke but seeing it again would be ten times worse. Jack just hoped the little guy had built up a better immune system since then.

Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. What had woken him up? It hadn't been a nightmare, he definitely knew what those were like, so what could it have been? He strained his ears but heard nothing. Mac and Archie were the only ones in the house, and it wasn't like Mac could get out of bed without making noise, nor could the dog get out.

He was about to shrug it off as a figment of his imagination and it had just been one of those times where you randomly wake up in the middle of the night for no reason, when there was suddenly a small cry from Mac's bedroom which was right across the hall.

"D-dad-dy!" the toddler sobbed out for him. It didn't take anything more than that before he was up out of bed and racing across the hall.

The first thing that hit him was the smell. He recognized it immediately as the sour, volatile smell of vomit. The next thing that he realized was that Mac was sitting in bed, scrubbing at his eyes. Without a moment's hesitation, Jack hurried over to his bed and pulled the rail down. He refrained from wrinkling his nose at the sight of the vomit. The poor toddler had thrown up all over his bed covers. Of course, it hadn't been his fault, Jack just really didn't like the smell of vomit.

"Aww, it's alright Little Buckaroo," Jack murmured. He silently cursed though. They had hoped that he would escape the wave of illness without getting sick, but for some reason, luck just wasn't ever on Mac's side.

He lifted the small boy out of the bed, careful to not get any of the vomit that was down the front of the blond's shirt on his own. He hummed softly as the small boy cried in an attempt to calm him. Thankfully, he had taken care of a sick Riley enough times to know what exactly needed to be done in caring for a sick child.

With one arm, he managed to get a fresh pair of pjs out of Mac's dresser. Mac mewled miserably against Jack's chest, the heat from his fever traveling all the way through his clothes. This scared Jack more than anything. He remembered what a fevered Mac had been like in the hospital and how the little boy almost hadn't made it. He obviously knew that this was different, it was only a stomach bug, but that didn't mean it didn't have Jack having flashbacks.

"You're okay," Jack whispered kissing his temple as he carried him into the bathroom. He stood Mac on the toilet seat and stripped off his pajamas down to his pull-up. Now he could feel how truly hot he really was. Before putting the clean ones on, he stepped over to the medicine cabinet and pulled the thermometer and fever medicine out.

For once, the thermometer didn't even trigger Mac's gag reflex. The boy just stood there with it in his mouth, slumped over against Jack's chest. When the device beeped, he pulled it away and read the number. 101.6. That was not at all good. If it rose any higher, Jack would have no choice but to take him to the ER.

"Alright buddy, I know it's gonna taste yucky, but I need you to open up for me," Jack said softly, measuring out the correct dosage of medicine. Mac didn't even protest as Jack gently opened the half-asleep little boy's mouth and got him to swallow the medicine. Mac only coughed at the taste weakly before whimpering and curling back up against Jack.

"I know you're tired, but I gotta get ya in fresh pjs first. You can sleep as long as you want afterwards," Jack murmured. He made quick work of getting him changed before carrying him back into the hall. He opted for his own room rather than the toddler's now-reeking one. The minute Mac was put down into the king bed, he curled up and was immediately back to sleep. Jack sighed and ran a quick hand through his hair and then set out to gather supplies.

First, he stopped in Mac's room and peeled off his soiled sheets, managing to wrinkle his nose only slightly in disgust. After popping them in the washer, he grabbed a bucket, a bowl of cool water, a few rags, the thermometer, a glass of water, and a small glass of blue Gatorade. He brought his entire load back to the master bedroom, placed the bucket on the ground just in case, and the rest on the bedside table.

With care that no one would have ever believed the ex-Delta was capable of, he wiped a cloth drenched with the cool water across Mac's feverish forehead. The tot whimpered and tried to curl away from the sudden cold with a shiver running down his spine, but Jack gently cupped his cheek and held him while he placed the wet rag on his skin.

"You're okay, Trooper. It's gonna help ya. Hush now, you'll be alright," he cooed softly, trying to channel his inner Diane. Boy did he wish she were here. Not that he minded taking care of his little boy, it was just that Diane was much more experienced when it came to anything to do with illness. It seemed like she always knew exactly what to do in any situation.

Jack, on the other hand, did not. Sure, he was prepared to run ten miles or get into a firefight, but this was almost graver. Yeah, he had taken care of a sick Riley, but that didn't mean that he wasn't nervous every time she so much as sneezed. Heck, the first time she had gotten sick when she was a baby, Jack had been terrified. With Mac being so innocent and seemingly fragile though, this was almost worse.

The Texan carefully crawled into bed next to Mac as not to disturb him, but the little boy was having none of the distance between them. He automatically curled against his father, a soft woosh of air against Jack's t-shirt letting the older man know he had once again fallen asleep.

Jack couldn't help but smile, despite Mac not feeling well. The toddler was just too adorable. Once it was clear that Mac was going to be asleep for at least a little while longer, Jack let his eyes droop close. He was an extremely light sleeper as it was, but with a sick little boy right next to him, he almost quite literally slept with one eye open.

0000

Of course, the comfortable sleep only lasted a total of one hour and forty-three minutes. Jack was once again jolted out of his sleep, though this time significantly more alert, by a stirring Mac beside him. The little boy had shot up in bed and was now looking suspiciously green in the lamp light.

"Bucket," Jack said automatically. When Mac didn't seem to understand what he was talking about, Jack hurriedly grabbed the bucket up from Mac's side of the bed and placed it under the boy's chin just in time. Mac gagged and expelled what little was left in his stomach. The whole time Jack held his medium-length hair and rubbed his back with the other hand, whispering comforting words in the blond's ear.

After everything was out of his stomach, he dry-heaved a few times and then collapsed into a fit of coughs. His small face turned tomato red and screwed up in discomfort. Jack grabbed the glass of water off of the nightstand and waited until the coughs died down to bring the glass to his lips. Mac began to gulp the water, and as bad as it made him feel, Jack pulled the glass away from his lips.

"Small sips, kiddo," Jack whispered when Mac cried pitifully, "You'll make yourself sicker if ya gulp it like that."

He held the water back up to the toddler's lips and helped him to sip the liquid that would help to sooth his raw throat. Mac cried against his father's chest and gasped for air. Jack patted his back and tried to soothe the once again red-faced little boy.

"Calm down, buddy. I need you to calm down before you make this worse," Jack said softly. Mac nodded minutely and tried to curl into himself. Jack sighed and ran a hand through his short-cropped hair. He gently picked Mac up as to not jostle him and make his nausea any worse and carried him to his room where he grabbed the boy's giraffe and hippo and carried him down to the living room. There was no use in trying to get anymore sleep tonight.

Mac whined into the couch pillow and curled under the crochet blanket, made by Jack's mama, that the said man had draped over him. This was not at all like the normal Mac. The boy was never this clingy, and he would die before he whined or complained about something. This just showed Jack how horrible he felt.

Jack then retreated back to the room to pick up the rest of their supplies. The bucket was once again placed by the couch and all of the supplies dumped on to the coffee table. Jack flicked on the TV to some mind-numbing show that was only on at four in the morning and turned the volume down. He had it on mostly for background noise, considering most of his attention would be on the sleeping boy next to him, who was once again shivering from the cool cloth on his forehead. Jack rubbed his back softly and turned his eyes to the TV.

0000

Mac actually managed to sleep on the couch until 6:30. Jack definitely _hadn't_ let his eyes droop close for a few minutes here and there, but it hadn't mattered. If Mac had really needed him, Jack would have been awake in an instant. At some point in the two-and-a-half-hour stretch, Archie had made his way into the living room and had made himself at home smushed between Jack's side and Mac's feet. The dog wasn't much to look at in Jack's opinion, but he was the sweetest thing since rock candy (Casey's words, not their's).

Mac popped his head up from underneath his blanket cocoon. His eyes were still glazed and half-closed, his skin was imitating the color of a piece of paper, his cheeks were bright red with fever, and his usually tame blond hair stuck up in all directions, but Jack had never seen a little boy more adorable.

"Mornin', Little Buckaroo! How ya feelin'?" Jack asked kindly. Mac shook his head miserably and buried his head against Jack's chest. The older man put his hand against the boy's forehead. His fever hadn't changed from what Jack could tell. Why did Mac have such terrible luck when it came to fevers? It seemed that Mac just physically couldn't do anything half-way.

"I think it's time for more medicine," Jack said. Without moving Mac, he reached over to the coffee table and poured out the dosage. This time, Mac whined a bit in protest at the foul-tasting liquid, but Jack did eventually coax it down his throat with a sip of Gatorade.

"Are ya feelin' up to somethin' little to eat? Ya haven't thrown up in a while and it might help your stomach," Jack questioned softly.

"N-no food," Mac murmured. Jack kissed his forehead and let it go, but he vowed that he would get Mac to eat something later. Diane would have his head when she got home if he didn't.

"Where momma?" Mac questioned. Jack winced. Mac knew that Diane wasn't home. The fact that he was asking where she was either meant that he was feeling extra clingy or the fever was causing him to be confused. He really hoped it was the former.

"She's away buddy. You know that. She's not going to be home for a couple more days."

A single tear rolled down the toddler's red cheek. "Want momma," he whispered. Jack rubbed a hand over his belly in attempt to both soothe his nausea and calm him down.

"I know you do," was all he could think to say. He checked the grandfather clock across the room before quickly determining that Diane should be up. Even if she wasn't, he knew that a call from a sick Mac would surely get her out of bed.

"Why don't we call her?" he suggested. This was enough to get Mac perked up to the point where he actually lifted his head and looked around.

"Momma?"

"Yeah, we'll call momma, buddy," Jack soothed. He pulled out his new phone, courtesy of Mac "investigating" the old one, and called Diane. He put it on speaker phone and it only took two rings for her to pick up.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"I only call you and you immediately assume that somethin's wrong?" Jack demanded playfully. He could hear Diane shuffling around on the other end and the sound of a suitcase zipper opening. She had definitely already been up.

"It's your day off and you like to try and get as much sleep as you can. You wouldn't be calling me at ten 'til seven if something weren't up."

"Fair enough," Jack surrendered. Finally, Mac couldn't hold back his anticipation anymore. "Hi momma!" he squeaked, though with less passion than he usually would have.

"Hey baby! What are you doing up this early?" Diane wondered. Jack could here the genuine surprise and concern in her voice. No doubt she could here the difference in Mac's voice.

"Someone's not feelin' good and wanted to call momma," Jack explained.

"My poor baby! What kind of sick are you feeling honey?"

"My tummy feels yucky and I have a fevew. Daddy teeps making me take yucky medcine. I don't feel tood," the toddler admitted.

"Well, you make sure you rest up and listen to daddy, mister. I love you and I'll be home as soon as I can. I'm so glad you called," Diane said brightly, making an exaggerated kissing noise on the other end. Mac returned the favor with a noise of his own (though his may have sounded as if he were smacking his lips) and an "I wove 'ou momma."

"Put daddy on the phone for me, will you?"

Jack ruffled Mac's hair softly and turned the speaker phone off. "Hey, what's up?"

"How is he, really? Jack, I need to know. If he's really sick, I can come home early. Does he need to go to the ER?"

"Nah, I think he'll be alright. You leavin' early isn't goin' to help nothin'. Just stay at the conference and be the smart doctor I know. I got everything covered here. It's just a stomach bug," Jack explained, stroking the golden locks that were now using Archie as a pillow. The dog didn't seem to mind though, if his tail thumping the side of the couch was anything to go by.

"Alright but call me _immediately_ if anything changes. I mean it, Jack. If his fever gets above 102.4, you need to take him to the ER. You've got to make sure he stays hydrated and please get him to eat something if you can later on," Diane ranted.

"Calm down, honey. I've everythin' handled. You don't need to worry about him, darlin'," Jack reassured her.

Diane sighed, "I wish I were there."

"I'm sure he does too, but he'll be fine. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of him."

"I know. Give him my love. I've got to go, bye," she said before hurriedly clicking off. Jack knew she was starting to tear up and hadn't wanted to start crying on the phone. It was all the same though, Mac had kicked off his blankets, but was now shivering once again.

Jack reached down and took Mac's clammy hand. He pulled the blanket back up over the boy. "No," he whined, "doo hot, daddy!"

Jack shook his head and squeezed the boy's hand. His mama had always said the best way to get rid of a fever was to sweat it out of them and she had never steered him wrong before. He planned to do everything he remembered his mama doing for him as a little boy.

"I know you're hot, buddy, but it'll help, I promise," Jack murmured. He expected to here a question as to how being hot could possibly help a fever, but instead, he was met with silence. With a quick glance towards the couch, he found Mac once again sound asleep.

0000

Mac woke up briefly about a half hour later, long enough for him to puke up what little liquid he had in him. He then proceeded to collapse back to the couch and fall right back to sleep against Jack. The ex-Delta wasn't fairing too well either. He hated seeing either of his kids sick; it always made him feel so helpless. At work, he was usually in complete control of what happened, but when it came to his sick two-year-old, there was absolutely nothing he could do.

Mac then managed to sleep for a whole two-and-a-half-hours. He hardly even moved let alone wake up. When he finally did, Jack once again took his temperature and found it had dropped a tiny bit. It still wasn't even under 101, but it was better than nothing.

Jack noticed the sweat sticking to the boy's forehead. The last time Riley had gotten sick, he had given her a warm bath to both help with the fever and to wash away the sticky sweat. Diane had made sure it was a warm bath and not a cold bath. She had said although a cold bath may seem like a good idea, it lowered the body temperature too quickly and caused shivering, which actually increased body temperatures.

Jack approached the boy and kneeled in front of him. "Do you want a bath, Little Buckaroo? It will help you feel better."

Mac nodded feebly and reached for Jack. The man was pretty sure Mac's feet hadn't touched the ground since he had thrown up at two this morning, but he was okay with it. If Mac wanted to be a normal toddler, ask for help, and cling to his father, then he was okay with that, especially while he wasn't feeling well.

Jack carried him to the bathroom and drew him a nice warm bath before stripping him and placing him carefully in the tub. He took extra care while running the soft washcloth over his fevered skin, knowing from first-hand experience the way every molecule in your skin hurt when you were sick. If Mac noticed the pain, he didn't acknowledge it. For once, he wasn't playing with any of his ducks or toy boats, but instead leaning against Jack, still half-asleep. When he began to shiver, Jack pulled him out of the bath and wrapped him in his towel with the frog hood.

Eventually, Jack had gotten him back into his pjs, another dose of fever meds in him, a whole glass of Gatorade gone, and back on the couch, though awake and watching Paw Patrol.

"Would ya like somethin' to eat now?" Jack inquired. Mac shook his head. "Tan't be sick."

Jack sat down beside him and placed a firm hand on his back. "I'd really like it if you'd eat somethin'. I'm gonna go make you some broth. I'll be happy if you only eat a few bites. Can you do that for me?" Mac seemed to contemplate it a moment before nodding and snuggling down into the couch. Jack smiled at his success and got up to make the soup.

When it was finished, he brought it into the boy and spooned him up some. Mac hesitantly slurped it down plus three more bites after that before he called it quits. Jack was okay with that. At least there was something in his stomach besides Gatorade and fever medicine.

Two more episodes of Paw Patrol later, and Mac was back to sleep. It wouldn't be until he woke up a few hours later, a blanket soaked with sweat surrounding him, that Jack would reach down to feel his forehead and smile that his fever had broken. It also wouldn't be until after that that Jack thanked God that it hadn't been like last time.


	21. And So It Begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to let everyone know that updates may be pretty sporadic and unpredictable since I have a lot of school work, but I promise that I am still constantly working on this. Alright, here it is!

_Previously:_

_Two more episodes of Paw Patrol later, and Mac was back to sleep. It wouldn't be until he woke up a few hours later, a blanket soaked in sweat surrounding him, that Jack would reach down to feel his forehead and smile that his fever had broken. It also wouldn't be until after that that Jack thanked God that it hadn't been like last time._

0000

"Who's my big handsome three-year-old?" Jack drawled while picking Mac up out of the highchair and swinging him around in the air. Mac's shirt rode up on his chest and Jack took the opportunity to blow a raspberry on his exposed belly. The toddler giggled and barely managed to stutter out "m-me-e" between gasps of air.

"Let him eat, Jack," Diane reprimanded, setting a cut-up waffle dotted with whipped cream and blueberries down on the highchair tray. Jack twirled the blond in his arms one last time before plopping him down in his chair and buckling him in.

"You better eat up Little Buckaroo, we want to make sure everythin's ready for your party," Jack said. Mac pounded his legs excitedly against his chair and began to shovel his food down as fast as his mediocre hand-eye coordination could get it to his mouth.

Riley fed off of his emotion and began to bounce in her seat in the same manner. "Mac, I made you the best present ever!" she cried. All the while, Archie bounded between all of the legs, mouth slack in case he needed to clean up any scraps off the floor.

Mac responded with a happy cooing noise, words not coming out do to how stuffed his little mouth was. Diane wrinkled her nose in disapproval. "Riley, sit still. Mac, please don't put so much in your mouth. We don't want you to choke."

This did little to quell the overall atmosphere of the breakfast table, but they did manage to finish their food before both toddler and little girl were bounding off somewhere. Jack shook his head in amusement and help Diane to clean up the kitchen. Those two were going to be the death of him.

"I've got to go pick up the cake, so I'm going to need you to get the two of them ready for the party. Bozer and Desi are going to be here in three hours, and we've got lots to do," Diane said, snagging her car keys off of the wall peg.

Jack didn't even have time to properly reply before the front door was shut and he was left alone in the house with two little balls of energy to look after.

Realizing that the house was uncharacteristically quiet, Jack quickly made his way up the stairs and peeked into Riley's room. Finding no one there, he moved on down the hallway to Mac's. The sight inside made him want to laugh. Riley had somehow managed to coax the tiny toddler into her lap, though it wasn't hard considering how much she had grown recently, and was now writing something on his little arm in colorful markers. Jack thanked his lucky star that they were washable.

"Whatcha guys doin'?" Jack asked kindly. Riley smiled up at him and shoved Mac's arm forward. Jack winced at how un-gentle she had been, fully expecting this to send Mac into a panic, but he merely giggled and beamed along with Riley.

This made Jack unimaginably happy. Mac had been home now for going on eight months and he was like a completely different little boy. He didn't see the psychiatrist as often as he had been, though he still did every few weeks or so, and quick movements and loud noises no longer scared him. He was still wary around strangers and clung to one of his parents when he had to be in their vicinity, but he didn't hide or cry anymore, and Jack saw that as an improvement. He was still a quiet little guy, Riley's polar opposite, but he spoke excitedly like any other child his age. He didn't like things that other toddlers did either, but that was okay too because that was just who Mac was.

"I was making sure everyone knew Mac was the birthday boy!" she exclaimed cheerily. Mac's cheeks burned red, but he allowed Riley to show Jack his arm. "Mac's 3!" was scrawled across his arm in shaky rainbow writing with balloons and streamers coming off the letters. Jack smiled and picked both of them up in his arms (with only a small grunt of exertion.)

"I think everyone knows, sweetheart. Now, you go on and get ready while I get Mac all cleaned up." He kissed her forehead and set her back on the ground. She had barely landed before she was bounding off down the hall.

Jack turned his attention back to the toddler. "She's silly, ain't she?" Mac giggled and nodded. Jack stood him up on his bed and changed him into a pair of jeans, a long sleeve, Army green thermal, and an adorable brown leather jacket that Sally had sent as an early birthday gift. All in all, he looked like the most adorable, rugged looking genius toddler Jack had ever met, not that he had met that many to begin with, but still.

"Well look at that. I've got quite the handsome boy on my hands," Jack said with a grin. He once again scooped the tiny boy into his arms and bounced him gently. "Let's go get you washed up, then you and Riles can go play some more."

0000

"Happy birthday Mac!" Bozer cried. He held a medium sized cylinder shape wrapped in multi-colored wrapping paper in his arms and shoved it at the boy, even as his mother herded him and Josh into the house, who was just starting to walk and had already fallen over once upon entering the house.

"Fanks!" Mac responded with just as much enthusiasm. The blond had practically been vibrating since Diane had gotten home with the cake. He just couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that all of this commotion was just for him. Mac gently set the package on to the coffee table where he already had quite the impressive collection of gifts, both from his family, the team, and his friends.

Almost immediately afterwards, the doorbell rang again, and Mac scampered over to the bench in the entry room so he could stand on it and look out the window. He squealed with excitement when he saw Matty and Casey on the other side.

"Daddy! Daddy! Mif Matty and Casey are here! Tome open da doow!" he cried. Jack chuckled at the toddler and put a hand on his small shoulder to keep him from tumbling head-first over the side.

"Alright, hold yer horses, I'm comin'." The Texan opened the door and greeted the two ladies on the other side. Casey gave him a hurried "hello" before she was cooing over the blond practically dangling off the side of the couch in an attempt to get to her faster.

"Look at you, Mac Attack, my big boy!" She wrapped him in her embrace, and he returned the sentiment by squeezing his small arms around her shoulders. She swung him in a quick circle and plopped him on his feet so he could run after Desi into the backyard.

Matty shook her head fondly. "I can't believe it's already been almost a year. He's like a completely different boy. He's going to be so excited when you give him his special gift."

Jack snorted in agreement. "I know. Most kids his age wouldn't even understand, but clearly Mac ain't most kids. He's not gonna know what to do with himself."

A small crash broke through their idle chatter. Immediately, Jack's eyebrows shot up to his hair line. "Daddy!" Riley called, "Uhhh, Archie knocked a glass off the dining room table!" Jack sighed with exasperation and ran a hand over his face. This was going to be a long party.

0000

"Happy birthday to you!" everyone finished as Diane carried out an ice cream cake depicting a race car, Mac's newest obsession, and said "Happy Birthday, Mac!" in baby blue icing. A big green and yellow candle in the shape of a three was burning brightly on top. With cheeks bright in embarrassment, Mac managed to blow out the candle as everyone cheered. Jack hoisted him up onto his hip as Diane cut the cake and placed a sliver on a paper plate.

"First piece goes to the birthday boy!" she exclaimed, handing him the plate and a small fork. Once he had taken his, everyone else crowded around for their piece. With his keen senses, Mac noticed that his Nanny and Pappy were sitting a bit away from the crowd on two lawn chairs.

Since he had first met them over Thanksgiving, he had felt nothing but unconditional love from them, like everyone else in his new-found family. Grammy was soft-spoken and gentle, the complete polar opposite of his Nana. She wore perfume that smelled like flowers and plain colored sweaters because she was always cold. She was always sending them baked goods, especially peanut butter cookies since they were both Mac and Riley's favorites. He noticed that momma looked a lot like her, although the elder woman's cocoa colored skin was tight with faint wrinkles and her hair was less jet chocolate brown and more salt and pepper. Overall, she was lovely to talk to and one of the kindest people Mac had ever met.

Pappy, on the other hand, was a very interesting person. First off, Pappy had been born and raised in Mexico until he was sixteen when his family moved here. His English was Spanish accented, but not in a way that made make uncomfortable like the people who used to meet with James. Second, Mac was able to have conversations with Pappy in Spanish that he felt were special because not everyone could understand what they were saying. Second, Pappy had all kinds of stories from his life as a pilot. Mac adored listening about all of the places he had been and secretly hoped that someday he could travel all over the world to see some of the places he described. Pappy was also a very good storyteller. He was constantly making up tales for his only grandchildren, most recently that of vivacious Riley, the new school teacher in a little western town who had a heart as big as the moon but was constantly getting herself in scuffles, and Deputy Mac, who's bravery nearly rivalled his wits and his sweet, kind reputation often had the townsfolk doubting his abilities.

Seeing that both were not getting any cake, he wriggled in Jack's grasp until he was placed on the grass and he hesitantly approached the pair. Both grinned brightly when they saw him and Pappy said, "Mira quién es! ¡El cumpleañero! What are you up to, niño?

Mac allowed himself to be lifted on to his lap and settled in with his piece of cake. There was something he wanted to ask the pair. He would have gladly asked daddy or momma, but he was afraid that they wouldn't tell him the truth. He thought that they would only tell him what he wanted to hear, so he figured that since Grammy and Pappy didn't know him as well, they would simply tell him how it was.

Instead of responding in Spanish as he usually did, Mac gazed down at his lap and pushed a bit of ice cream around his plate. Maybe this hadn't been a good idea. He was suddenly come over by a familiar sense of dread he felt whenever confronted with a situation where someone could become disappointed in him.

"What's bothering you darling?" Grammy prodded gently. Mac sighed and mumbled something quickly under his breath. Both adults looked at each other and Pappy smiled tentaively. "You'll have to speak up Chamaco, my hearing's not as good as it used to be."

"Tan I ask 'ou a kestion?" he murmured softly.

"Of course, that's what we're here for," Grammy said softly. She reached over and carefully touched his arm. Mac momentarily flinched, even after these many months still not liking sudden contact, but he eventually settled and gulped with anxiety.

"Am I 'till a membew of da famiwly even dough I don't wook yike eveywone else?" Mac asked softly. He refused to meet either of their gazes and held his breath with apprehension, knowing that Grammy and Pappy could very well tell him what he didn't want to hear. Whatever they said though, he would believe.

"Of course you are. Just because you weren't born from someone in our family, that doesn't mean you're not one of us. We love you all the same and that's all that matters. You don't have to share blood with someone in order for them to be your family, mijo," Pappy answered, not exactly knowing where this knew doubt was coming from. Both grandparents knew that Mac had been through hell in his short life and often doubted his place in their family, but everyone had thought he had finally become content with the fact that just because you didn't share blood with someone didn't mean you weren't a member of the family. Apparently not.

"Momma and daddy awen't going do send me bac' dough, awe dey?" Mac whispered fearfully. The toddler couldn't see, but both adults looked shocked and heartbroken. Even after all of the improvements Mac had made in the last months, he was still worried that they would apparently get tired of him and send him back to his father.

"They would never. We love you too much to let you go now. Where's this coming from all of the sudden?" Grammy asked sympathetically.

"Donnie says now dat I'm fwee, dey'll send me bac' pecause I'm not wittle yike before. He says dat people onee want da puppies and soon I won't be a puppy anymowe and dey won't want me. I don't want do go bac'!" Mac wailed.

Diane had told them about Donnie Sandoz. He was a boy almost four years older than Mac who lived down the street. Apparently, the older boy had really been giving Mac a hard time, even going as far as to bully him and his friends. The boy himself hung out with kids twice his age, no doubt where he learned a lot of his languauge from, and then thought it was fun to pick on the younger kids in the neighborhood. Him and his cronies hung out at the playground at the end of their street, and whenever the kids would go, the boy would immediately descend on them,unfortunately resulting in the children no longer being able to go there. He looked down on Bozer because he was African American and teased Desi for hanging out with boys all the time, not to mention the fact that Mac had one day come home from going to the park with Desi and his family with his knees all scraped up because Donnie had shoved the small boy down. After that, Diane had to practically hold Jack back so he didn't go storming right down to the other kid's house.

The main problem was the fact that Mac wasn't taking it well. He had just gotten away from years of abuse and finally found a safe home and now some snot-nosed boy was unravelling all the work they had done on Mac's self-esteem and feeling of safety. On top of that, Mac might have been a genius, but that didn't mean that he wasn't a bit naïve. Donnie told him all kinds of stuff that sent him into a panic, none of which was actually true.

"Darling," Grammy appeased, "They would never in a million years send you back. You're going to live with your mommy and daddy until you're an adult and even after if you need to. Don't listen to that boy; he'll tell you nothing but lies. You're so smart and handsome that you're only going to become an even better boy as you get bigger, not the other way around. We will always love you."

Mac beamed up at them and flung his small arms around the pair, attempting to hug them both at the same time, though sadly failing. Grammy kissed his forehead and Pappy ruffled his blond locks, much in the same way Jack did.

"Alright, niño, I say it's about time for you to open all those nice presents. Go on, we'll watch from over here," Pappy said, lowering him to the ground and giving his backside a tap to nudge him forward. Mac giggled and flew back over to his father who placed him on his lap and allowed Diane to push the large pile of presents forward.

The first one he picked up off of the pile was the gift Bozer had brought. He carefully pulled the paper off in the same careful manner he had with his Christmas gifts. The cylinder turned out to be an entire tub of green Army men like Bozer had at his house that the two boys always played with whenever Mac went over. Next was a soft package from Casey which was a light grey sweatshirt from London (the last place they had been on an op). Matty's gift turned out to be a puzzle book with all kinds of different logic games, word puzzles, and riddles. Riley had made him a card with plenty of glitter and colorful crayons. In the end, he had gotten many other things from everyone else on the team, Jack's family, Grammy and Pappy, and Jack and Diane themselves. By the time all of the gifts were unwrapped, his cheeks were alight with excitement and he was so happy he couldn't sit still.

"Mac, we've got one more gift for you," Diane said mysteriously as Mac, Desi, Bozer, and Riley were coloring with Mac's new sidewalk chalk on the back patio. Curiously, Mac cocked his head up in the air and Jack ended up having to cover a burst of laughter with a cough seeing just how much Mac looked like a Golden Retriever puppy in that moment.

"Come on up here, bud," Jack said, taking the thin package from Diane and holding it out to the toddler. Tentatively, Mac stood and took the brightly wrapped gift from his father. Everyone crowded around to see the contents, though all of the adults had either looks of joy or knowing smirks on their face.

Carefully, Mac tore the paper away and was left with a yellow manilla folder in his hands. He scrunched his little eyebrows together in confusion as he opened the envelope and pulled out the paper it contained. His baby blue eyes flicked across the page as he read the words and his small mouth fell into a shocked "o".

"What is it, Mac?" Matty prodded with a smile on her face that said she obviously already knew what it was. He mumbled something incoherent under his breath, still in shock.

"What was that?" Casey demanded, an identical smile on her face.

"Cewtificate of Adopson," he whispered. And then, in a very un-Maclike way, he squealed with joy and rushed towards Jack and Diane's waiting arms. Everyone else cheered, even the kids who really didn't know what was going on. Jack threw him up in the air and kissed his forehead while Diane took the certificate from him so it wouldn't get wrinkled in all the action.

"Angus Jackson MacGyver Dalton," Jack said proudly. As much as they hadn't wanted to keep Mac's last name that he shared with his father, they had also wanted him to be able to keep the nickname everyone knew and loved him by. The only way for that to be possible was for them to make MacGyver his second middle name and Dalton his new last one.

"Hey, share the love why don't you?" Diane said playfully, holding her arms out for Jack to pass Mac over. Reluctantly, the ex-Delta handed the toddler over to his wife who kissed his face all over until the boy began to whine unhappily and wipe his face. Riley joined them and wrapped her armas around her father's wait in a tight hug. Archie ran in between everyone's legs barking in excitement.

"You're _my_ little boy now," Jack whispered so quietly that only Mac could hear. Mac leaned over and kissed his cheek, the sentiment salty with tears of joy.

0000

A Willie Nelson song played quietly on the radio as Jack drove down the deserted woodland road. He glanced in the rearview, checking on his toddler who was sound asleep with his head lolled against his padded seatbelt cover. They were returning from dropping Bozer off at home since his mother had left early when Josh became fussy. Of course, Jack had readily agreed to bring him home, but the party had gone on a lot longer than they had expected once the cleaning up was all said and done. It was now after nine and the sky was completely dark, the deserted road in the mountains the Bozers lived on eerily illuminated by their headlights

Jack was tapping his fingers along to one of his favorite songs when a small pop, though deafening in the silent night, sounded. Smoke began to curl from underneath the hood and the car shuddered to a stop.

"Damn it!" Jack growled under his breath. Of course, the car would decide to have engine trouble at this exact moment in the dark of night. With another glance in the rearview to make sure Mac was still sound asleep, Jack opened his door and sauntered around to the front of the car to take a look.

He had barely had the hood open when a stick snapped in the woods. Whirling around, he groped at his hip for his gun, which wasn't there since he was off duty. Glaring into the woods, nothing came to his attention. He tried to settle his nerves, telling himself it was just an animal, but his Spidey-senses continued to tingle in that creepy way that he couldn't quite describe.

He waved the smoke away from his face so he could get a good look at the problem and hopefully fix it himself before he had to call a tow truck. He was sure Diane would never let him live it down if that happened. He leaned down close to the source and hissing filled both of his ears. He raised an eyebrow in confusion. He leaned back to try and figure out what the issue was when he heard it.

The clicking of a gun's safety coming off.

He whirled around to see a young woman with stalk straight blond hair and striking blue eyes. She had a sharp face and a smirk that fit nicely on it in a sick way. Dressed all in black, she had a 9 millimeter resting casually in the crook of her crossed arms.

Jack's hands instinctually curled into fists, prepared to break the "never hit a woman" rule in an instant.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Dalton," the woman said darkly. She gestured behind the CIA agent with the barrel of her gun. Jack carefully looked behind him, and couldn't hold the feral growl in his throat back at what he saw.

"You're going to do exactly what I say, or Alex here will put a bullet in the baby's beautiful blond head."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the cliffy. (Okay, no I'm not!)  
> 1\. Mac's grandpa says "Look who it is! The birthday boy!"  
> 2\. I don't know anything about the adoption process or if you really get a certificate or not so please try and just pretend.  
> 3\. Donnie Sandoz was Mac's childhood bully who they mention in the episode where the team goes back to Mission CIty.


	22. A Nightmare Come True

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey if I haven't mentioned it in any other stories, or this one for that matter, I do not own any of these shows, books, or movies!

_Previously:_

_"You're going to do exactly what I say, or Alex here will put a bullet in the baby's beautiful blond head."_

0000

Leaves and twigs crunched under three pairs of feet as the group made their way through the woods. Or rather as two forced the others through the forest at gunpoint. Jack kept his fists clenched at his sides in case an opportunity to use them presented itself, but so far, nothing had.

"Go ahead and try it," the blond girl said, "But you're going to end up with genius toddler brains all over your clothes. I wouldn't want to pay for that dry-cleaning bill."

A small sob escaped Mac's wobbly lips. The man, Jack recognized him as Alexander Dimaco, the bailiff from the custody case, held Mac roughly in his arms with a Glock resting on the toddler's shoulder. Mac's eyes were already red and puffy from crying and any time he moved, Alex would shove the gun harder into his skin. Mac was only three, but he was a genius three-year-old who was smart enough to know that the gun pointed at him meant bad things.

Jack, for one, had never once taken his eyes off of the toddler. Every time Alex moved the gun, Jack would snarl at him and silently damn him to hell and back. It would be out loud, if it weren't for the same gun that was the source of his rage.

"Real nice, talkin' about that kind of stuff in front of a baby. Oughta feel real proud of yourself," Jack growled darkly, the closest he could get to a threat without putting Mac's life too much in danger.

"Oh don't worry, he'll be hearing much worse than that once we get where we're going," the blond said with a cruel sneer on her face. All Jack could do was try hard not to think about what that meant.

0000

A while later, though Jack had no way of telling exactly how long, the van they had thrown him in came to a halt. If he hadn't been tied up in a moving vehicle, he surely would have been pacing its perimeter like a caged animal. Not only had they separated him from Mac, but he also hadn't seen his little boy in what he could assume had been hours. The only thing keeping him from screaming and fighting to get out in any way he could was his Delta and CIA training. He would be no help to Mac if he started to panic.

The doors of the van opened to reveal Alex along with two men armed to the teeth in military gear and a seemingly serious problem with anabolic steroids. Jack bit his bottom lip in order to hold back any smart-ass remark that may slip out and put Mac in more danger than necessary. His main goal in the whole situation: keep Mac alive and as unharmed as possible.

"Up," Alex growled, jerking the barrel of his gun in the same motion. Not wanting to comply but not really having any other option, Jack managed to stand up and only momentarily wobbles on sore legs that had long ago gone to sleep. The young terrorist gives him a rough shove and he stumbles forward, the leaf-covered ground swaying dangerously in his view. With his wrists tied up the way they are, a fall would almost definitely mean breaking something.

"Move," Alex snarled. Jack felt the tip of a gun press between his shoulder blades as one of Alex's bodyguards lead him towards a simple shed in a pitch-black clearing. The only reason Jack could see it, or anything for that matter, was because of the other bodyguard's TAC flashlight.

The first bodyguard punched a ten-digit code into a keypad on the door and placed his thumb on a fingerprint scanner off to the side. Neither of which Jack had previously noticed, though that wasn't saying much with the quality of light in the middle of the night in the woods.

To say he wasn't surprised when they opened the door would be an understatement. Jack had fully expected to be shoved in there and then the building be blow up or set on fire, but to his astonishment, it only revealed a cement staircase leading down into a very brightly lit area.

"Down," Alex commanded. Jack stumbled down the stairs, yet another friendly shove from the foe bailiff not helping his already sore legs. "What, can ya only speak in monosyllables now?" he snarled testily.

This did nothing for him. He merely received a swift hit to the chest with the butt of one of the bodyguard's sniper rifles. As a woosh of air left his lungs, Jack hunched over in an attempt to make himself a smaller target, but another hit to his chest had him on his knees.

"It would be in your best interest not to piss me off Dalton, especially if you want to see that boy of yours alive," Alex said stiffly, motioning for one of the guards to grab his shirt and yank him up. Jack could only take in quick gasps of air to compensate for the bruises he could already feel forming on his chest as they forced him down multiple halls and finally stopped at a steel-platted door.

Nodding to the guard outside the door, Alex waited for him to open it before he pushed Jack "Daddy!" Mac cried out from the corner of the room where he had been sitting on a surprisingly clean cot. Apparently, these particular terrorists were hygiene conscience.

"Mac," Jack sighed in relief. The little boy had never once left his mind since the terrorists had separated them, and that incessant fear that they would do something to the toddler had been nagging at his mind the whole time. Just seeing him alive and well, even under their dire circumstances, lifted a huge weight off of his chest.

"Don't get too comfortable, I'm sure The Commander will want to come and see you soon." With that, Alex slammed the thick steel door shut and stormed away. The multiple deadbolts had barely clicked into place before Jack was up and scooping Mac into his arms.

"Are you okay? Did they hurt you, bud?" he demanded, slightly panicked. He didn't even want to think about what they could have done to the genius in the hours they were separated. Call him a mother hen, but anyone who touched his family automatically went to the top of his hitlist.

"I'm otay daddy," he whispered, nestling into Jack's worn leather jacket, "I'm just scawed."

Jack ran his hand through Mac's blond hair, relishing in the feeling of his medium-length locks, still soft with baby silk, falling through his fingers. To their knowledge, Mac had never had a haircut, thus why his hair fell past his ears. Diane thought it was so adorable that she just couldn't bring herself to make him a hair appointment. Somewhere in the deepest pits of his soul, he hoped that this wouldn't be the last time he felt them and smelled the fragrant strawberry wafting off of the locks of gold.

"It's alright to be scared. You know what momma says: bein' brave means you're able to admit when you're scared," Jack whispered softly, cradling his small form to his chest. Jack was scared too, though he wasn't going to tell Mac that. He didn't need to worry the boy anymore than necessary. He was sure that Diane had already contacted Matty and the team was well on their way to finding them. He just needed to keep Mac safe until then.

Mac wrapped his small arms as far around Jack's torso as they could go and squeezed. Although the toddler's strength wasn't exactly that great, Jack's damaged ribs still screamed in protest, sending flares a white-hot pain through his chest.

"Love you too, buddy, but be easy will ya?" Jack wheezed, trying in his gentlest to loosen the blond's grip. Mac immediately withdrew his arms and gazed up at Jack with concern shining in his baby blue eyes. Jack couldn't help but curse the toddler's intuition.

"I sowwy," Mac said, which even after many months, was still his automatic response to most situations.

"No, no, no, it's okay Mackie. My sides just hurt a bit, that's all," Jack answered quickly. He didn't want Mac to think any of the events were his fault, especially any harm that might come to him. If Jack didn't make it out alive, he didn't want Mac to blame himself for the rest of his life. He was just a little boy, yes, but Jack had no doubt that this would imprint itself on to Mac's soul forever.

"Oh," he said softly, ghosting his fingers over the Texan's side. He looked up at Jack with big, sad eyes, that were way too full of understanding for his young age and pulled his hand back to his side.

"Daddy's ribs huwt yike mine did?" he murmured softly.

Even under the circumstances, Jack couldn't help but offer him a soft smile. "Yeah, kinda like yours."

The automatic banging of all the deadbolts slamming back simultaneously was what eventually drew Jack's attention away from the toddler in front of him. His face melting into one of pure determination and anger, he pushed Mac behind him, so he was almost completely out of view.

To Jack's surprise, the blond woman from before was the one who strode through the door, although she wasn't without two bodyguards armed with sniper rifles and Alex closely in tow. She crossed her arms, those same striking eyes piercing through Jack as if she could see into his head.

"Hello Dalton," she said coldly. Her eyes flicked in the general direction of Mac and Jack shifted to keep all her attention on him.

"Hey, sweetness. Since ya clearly know who I am, can I have the privilege of knowing your name?"

She rolled her eyes as if she couldn't be bothered with him. "I suppose. My name's Nikki, but everyone around here calls me The Commander. I'll let you choose how you address me; just know that if you offend me in any way, the brat will pay for it."

A small whimper came from behind him, but Jack chose to ignore him for the moment. He hated hearing his boy in any sort of distress, but at the moment he had bigger things to worry about.

"Get up, Tex, and follow me. We're going to have a little…chat," she said decidedly after a moment. Jack could tell that she was loving every moment of the entire encounter, from Mac's scared noises to Jack's outright disobedience. It was also clear from her voice that this little "chat" was going to be much less pleasant, at least for him, than it sounded. People like her made him sick, so it was people like her that he tracked down and did his best to put away in deep, dark holes for a very long time.

For a moment, he thought about disobeying. If it had just been him in captivity, he would have never given in to anything she said, regardless if there was gun pointed at him or not. But here, with a baby to protect and them threatening said baby's life if he didn't comply, he slowly walked forward and allowed one of the guards to pin his wrists behind his back.

"Daddy!" And Jack would be darned if Mac didn't muster up the courage to call out for him right then and there. Of course, he had to and draw attention to himself. Nothing ever went Jack's way. Big tears began to roll down Mac's pink cheeks as he reached out desperately in Jack's direction.

"I'll be okay Mac. You be brave until I get back, okay?" Jack soothed him even as he was forcefully shoved out of the room by the guard pinning his hands.

"You be brave," Nikki mocked. And then, like the psychopath she was, she cackled, actually cackled, and slammed the door shut behind them, leaving the poor three-year-old in the cold, cement cell all by himself.

0000

When they got to another room, one of the guards handcuffed Jack to a metal chair in the middle of the room (why was it always cold, metal chairs that the kidnappers chose to use for their little "chats"?) while the other took up position beside the door. Alex, much to Jack's displeasure, had stayed behind in their cell to supposedly "keep an eye on Mac". Silently though, Jack vowed that if they so much as touched a hair on the boy's head, he would rip them all apart, piece by piece.

Nikki crossed her arms with a smirk and gazed down on Jack. He knew she was trying to intimidate him with her elevated position, but he was Delta _and_ CIA; some snot-nosed girl, even if she was a terrorist, wasn't going to intimidate him. Not that he was sexist by any means, the exact opposite actually because Matty was the scariest thing on two legs while Casey and Amber weren't far behind, but he wasn't about to let someone, girl or otherwise, intimidate him just by using a height advantage.

"Alright," she said, "Let's get one thing out in the open. You'll play by my rules and answer all of my questions. You will not speak unless I ask you to."

"Oh yeah," Jack tested, raising a defiant eyebrow. He knew he had to keep Mac safe and anything he did that they didn't like would be taken out on the toddler, but his disobedient streak just couldn't let him back down from such a direct order that he absolutely did not want to listen to, "Why's that?"

That superior smirk on her face morphed into a full-on patronizing sneer. She leaned down and got so close to him that he could make out little gray flecks in her blue eyes. If it hadn't been for the pure hate and psychotic look in her eyes, Jack could have sworn they belonged to Mac.

"Because," she hissed through her teeth, "I don't think you quite understand the threat here. If you don't cooperate with me, all I have to do is hit this button on my phone and it will alert Alex to take it out on the kid. But I'll make you a promise: If you cooperate with me, we won't touch a hair on the brat's head for now." As if to prove her point, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and showed him a text conversation she already had started with Alex. In the draft box was one simple word: **now**. She gazed unwaveringly at him while her thumb hovered threateningly over the green send button.

"Are we clear?" she demanded.

"Crystal," he spat back at her.

"Alright then. I'm going to ask you a question. This will be the only question I'm going to ask you. Answer it honestly and you can leave with only say…a few new marks. I can't deny my boys after all," she said lowly, speaking of her "boys" as if they were her own children. Jack kept his mouth shut tight but tipped his head in her direction to show that he was listening. He couldn't bring himself to even look remotely scared of her "boys" when he really wasn't. What was a few new scars to add to the collection?

"Listen closely. I happen to know that there is a vault in CIA headquarters containing a subject known as only tag number 33209. I also happen to know that your team knows its true power as a nuclear weapon powerful enough to take out most of the continental US. You have labelled as evidence against a very good friend of mine, James MacGyver, if you know him. Oh wait, I believe he's Angus' father," she said, as if just realizing it herself, "I will admit that he created it just for our little organization, but we really would like our toy back. Anyway, I know that you're one of the few people in the CIA who has the security access code to the vault. So, what is the access code?"

If it weren't for his training, Jack probably would have sputtered in utter disbelief. That was _not_ what he had been expecting her question to be. Even so, he was pretty sure his face had paled a couple of shades, he could only hope that she hadn't noticed.

"I don't know where you get your information, but I got no idea what you're talkin' about?" he said automatically, but trying not to say it too quickly so she would think he was lying. He was well trained in deception and hiding his emotions. Even with Mac's life at risk, it wasn't hard for him to keep up a mask.

What seemed to be a mournful smile crossed her face. Of course, Jack wasn't one of those fancy criminal profilers, but he'd seen enough bad guys in his time to be able to identify a psychopath when he saw one. He knew well enough that they couldn't feel remorse, let alone be genuinely mournful about anything.

She narrowed her eyes at him thoughtfully. "Well that's too bad Dalton. I was really hoping we could work together here. I'm mean, unless you want your precious little boy to pay for you because that can be arranged. I don't have problem hurting a kid, just so you know, but Angus _is_ pretty cute as far as three-year-old brats go."

"No wait!" Jack called out, barely taking a moment to keep a cap on his bottle of raging emotions. He couldn't let her see how blindingly angry he was for even threatening Mac in any way because that would just be an excuse for her to do something to him that Jack was trying to protect him from in the first place. "Leave the kid alone. He's got nothin' to do with my work. If you're gonna take it out on someone, take it out on me."

She gave him a strange look, almost like she hadn't expected him to defend Mac, but she quickly covered it up, nonetheless. Shoving her phone back in her pocket, she gave him a hard stare.

"I really do believe you're lying to me, Dalton, but, if you're so keen on taking the punishment, then I don't see why that can't be provided for you. We'll keep the kid unscathed. For now." With that, she gave the guard standing beside Mac's chair a solid nod and stood back to watch what Jack was sure was a very good "show" from her view.

One big fist came flying towards Jack and connected with the edge of his jaw. His head snapped to the side, but he just set his jaw and held the steely look on his face in place. Even after one hit after the other came and he felt his lip spilt, nose shatter, and ribs break, he prided himself on the fact that he never once uttered a single sound. No way in hell was he going to give his captors the satisfaction of knowing they had caused him pain.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, though Jack knew that was such a cliché thing to say, Nikki held up her hand in a silent motion for them to stop. Immediately the two guards, one of which had left his post by the door to come wail on Jack, backed off.

"Well, Tex, do you have any new information for me?" she said quietly, her voice barely toeing the line between reserved and foreboding. After a moments silence, she smirked, fully enjoying herself, and pulled her phone out once again.

Slowly, she began to pace the room, typing a new order out on the device. The entire time, Jack flicked his eyes after her, or eye since the one was swollen shut, carefully keeping tabs on the terrorist. Having know idea what she had in store, he didn't want to take his eyes off of her for a moment and risk missing something.

Carefully, he cleared his throat. "Can I ask you something?" he ground out, biting back the vile taste in his mouth at the act of asking a terrorist permission to do something. He was Jack Dalton. He didn't ask permission.

Her head snapped up sharply, the curtain of blond hair framing her face whipping through the air. "Go ahead," she snarled darkly.

"What exactly is your plan if you get the code? You just gonna waltz right into CIA headquarters with your code, march on down to this safe you say we have, steal the weapon thing back, and walk back out? 'Cause I hate to tell ya; it ain't gonna work."

The remark earned him a stinging slap to the face, but Nikki didn't seem that angry per say, more irritated than anything else. She gave him a hard stare before biting out, "Oh, I have my ways Dalton. You didn't really think I would got get it, did you? Trust me, I have enough…assistants to do that kind of work for me."

Jack bit back a nasty remark about her "minions" being used for…other purposes, figuring it would probably not end well for him, but he glared right back at her none the less.

"Alright," she said, almost cheerily, "back to business then. I have a new message all up and ready to be sent to Alex. Whether it actually gets through to him or not is up to how you answer my one and only question. It really is very simple, even for someone with an IQ like yours."

Choosing to ignore the comment about his IQ, Jack glanced at the phone which had been shoved in his face. The message there made his blood boil, though not literally (he would have to ask Mac if that was possible later for future reference).

**Scrap previous plans. Dalton's being much more uncooperative than I thought he would. Get the cattle prod.**

Jack snarled, venom practically seeping out in everyone of his words. "If you touch him with that cattle prod, so help me God I will kill every last one of you sons of bitches, starting with you missy."

Nikki sneered at him and made a big show of pressing the send button. Right before her finger can touch the screen however, Jack screams for her to stop. Curiously, she looks up at him.

"Last chance Dalton because I'm getting really tired of all of your disobedience. You know, my finger could just slip…" she trailed off and returned her gaze back to her phone. Half a plan formulated itself in Jack's mind in less than a second. It was only half of one, but half was better than nothing in all of his experiences.

"Wait! Stop! I'll tell you, just please leave him alone," Jack pleaded, practically begged, because despite his pride, he would beg if it meant Mac was safe. He would do anything for Mac.

With a smile, Nikki quickly changed to another app on her phone and gave him a patronizing look. "Go."

With a quick breath, Jack rattled off a series of numbers and letters to her. The same exact number of digits in the real access code. Not that it was the real code, obviously, because Jack would no sooner betray the CIA than he would cut off one of his own limbs, but it would at least buy him some time and alert Matty to the fact that someone who obviously didn't know the real code was trying to break in. Once they found out it wasn't the real code, however, Jack didn't know what he was going to do from there. All he could hope for was that the team would find them first.

"Bruce, take him back to the holding cell while we test out this code please," she said cheerfully to the guard currently looming over Jack. With a grunt, the guard unlocked the cuffs holding Jack down and yanked him up, giving him a little shove towards the door.

"Yeesh buddy, easy with the merchandise," Jack growled.

"Dalton." Jack inclined his head towards Nikki to show he was listening, fully expecting to be reprimanded about his attitude, but in his current situation turning his head wasn't exactly an option.

"Everyone has a weakness, Tex, you just got to know how to find it. Your's just happens to be your friends and family. I'll be keeping that in mind," she said darkly before turning her attention back to her phone and following the pair out of the room. Jack bit his tongue to keep any nasty remark that may be building there down, knowing full well what she could do if he slipped up.

With another simian grunt, the guard shoved him back down the maze of hallways he had previously walked until they once again arrived in front of the steel-platted door. Quickly unlocking the multiple deadbolts with practiced ease, the guard forced him through the doorway and took up residence in the frame, though not shutting it and leaving Nikki right beside him in case she needed to make a quick escape, apparently.

Jack immediately rushed to Mac who was curled up on the cot, shying as far away from Alex as he possibly could in the small cell. A decent sized cut was running across the toddler's forehead, with a thin bead of blood trailing down his temple. With a feral growl, Jack whirled on the other occupants in the room.

"What the hell happened to him? You said he wouldn't get hurt!"

Looking shocked herself, Nikki sent a deadly look Alex's way. "I told you not to touch him unless I ordered it Dimaco!" she snarled.

Looking flustered and slightly nervous under the woman's penetrating glare, Alex shrugged helplessly. "The little brat bit me when I got near him! What was I supposed to do?"

Although terrified for Mac's safety after he displayed disobedience, Jack couldn't help but feel a swell of pride for his boy. Apparently, he was done taking crap from abusive adults!

"Well Dalton, I'm true to my word. I'm formally apologizing to you for going back on a promise, even though _I_ never gave the order. I can tell you that Alex here will answer for this."

Jack almost snorted at the irony in a psychopath apologizing. He was pretty sure they weren't even capable of apologizing for anything, especially for going back on a promise.

"Just leave us alone will ya?"

With a roll of her eyes, Nikki snapped her fingers and left the room, Alex following like a dog to his master. The guard, Bruce apparently, slammed the door behind them and the familiar locking of the deadbolts filled the air.

He quickly knelt before the toddler and took his small face in his hands. His big blue eyes filled with tears as he gazed up at Jack. Gently, he swiped his thumb across the blood trailing down his pale cheekbone and wiped away the crimson liquid as best as he could.

"Hey, look at me," Jack murmured softly when Mac cast his gaze away from his own. When the innocent, baby blue orbs once again met Jack's own warm, chocolate brown ones, he offered him a smile, though it pulled painfully at his lips which were split in multiple places.

"Are you okay? You're not dizzy or nothin' right?"

Mac shook his head and once again tried to break away from Jack's ministrations only to once again be gently pulled back.

"Bud…I'm real proud of ya for fightin' back. It's about time you stick up for yourself, but…I need you to be careful here. These are mean people Mackie, and I don't think they appreciated you doing that. I'm not at all mad at you, I swear, I just really want you to be careful. Can you do that Little Buckaroo?"

The tears that had been welling up in Mac's eyes finally spilled over as the dam on his emotions broke and he clutched on to his father. Jack held him close, stroking his hair, kissing his head, and rubbing his back, not even caring how long they sat like that. All he knew was that he was holding his little boy who, as of then, was alive and well.

"I-I want do g-go home," he stuttered, the words coming out as such quiet whimpers that Jack had to strain in order to catch them. When he did however, he almost wished he hadn't.

"I know, bud, I know. I do too and I promise I'm gonna do everythin' I can to get us there as soon as I can, but I'll keep you as safe as possible until then, kay? I'm here with you buddy." Mac sniffled and took in a shaky breath, burrowing himself impossibly farther into Jack's t-shirt.

When the door unlocked and flew open, Jack whirled around in slight panic, clutching Mac to his chest. He could only guess that they were back because of the code he had given them. He had known they would find out it was a fake eventually, but he hadn't expected it to be so soon. He had thought he would at least have some time to come up with half a plan, but that didn't mean that he wasn't going to put up a fight at all costs.

Even before he really looked at Nikki, he could tell she was seething with rage. Her eyes had taken on an animalistic sheen and the way she clenched her fists at her side was a dead giveaway. Jack noted, however, that Alex was no where to be found and the second guard from before had taken his place, along with Bruce.

"It was a fake!" she screeched. In a flurry of motion, she whipped out her 9 mm and aimed it towards Jack. Just as quickly, he turned his body towards the wall, so he was shielding Mac from the bullets. The sound of the gun going off was deafening in the cement room, but to his surprise, the bullets bit into the wall right beside them instead of his own flesh.

She growled again and shoved it into the waistband of her jeans. With a deadly glare in Bruce's direction, the guard allowed his rifle to swing from the strap across his chest as he sauntered forward. He shoved Jack back, who swung in his general direction, but his depth perception was a bit off due to the obvious concussion.

In Jack's moment of wild anger, Bruce was able to rip a screaming Mac from an equally screaming Jack's arms, though the words coming out of Jack's mouth were much less holy than Mac's. Nikki offered him a smirk before striding out of the room, hand placed on the gun at her side. Bruce, who didn't seem to be having any trouble keeping ahold of a struggling Mac, was the last out the door. His dark brown eyes briefly met Jack's own terrified, enraged ones and for the briefest moment, they seemed to be genuinely sympathetic. Before Jack could even interpret it, he shut the door on Jack, closing him off from Mac.

He didn't waste any time in rushing to the door, wildly banging and trying to find a way out, anyway to get to Mac. It all came to a halt however, when he heard the little boy's terrified scream soon followed by a gunshot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha! I'm evil! You'll just have to wait until next time to see what happens.


	23. A Nightmare Come True Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, My computer deleted the latest chapter of Peculiar Profiling and that ticked me off so you got this instead! Blame the computer not me!  
> P.S. If you want to hear the perfect song for Mac and Jack's relationship, especially in this story, listen to "Watching You" by Rodney Atkins. It literally described them perfectly. Let me know with a comment if you agree.

_Previously:_

_He didn't waste any time in rushing to the door, wildly banging and trying to find a way out, any way to get to Mac. It all came to a halt, however, when he heard the little boy's terrified scream soon followed by a gunshot._

0000

Jack had heard plenty of gunshots in his life. Some from sniper rifles, some from pistols, shotguns, and hell, even the Nerf guns Riley and her friends liked to mess around with. He had heard them all over the world from all different people, whether those people were friendly or not it didn't matter. He had heard bombs go off, seen some of his closest friends die, got caught in a few of said explosions himself, shot, stabbed, poisoned, kidnapped, tortured, and any other sadistic things the people they hunted could cook up, but no cry of pain and sound of a gunshot had sent a fear so strong through Jack's very soul until right in that moment.

For a horrifying moment, the air was absolutely still. Not a sound broke the silence, not even Jack's own heartbeat pounding in his ears. His fist was frozen midair from when he had been attempting to beat the door down with his own hands only seconds before. The world, for all Jack knew, could have stopped turning right then and there.

When the icy fear that had temporarily covered his being thawed, it was replaced by a rage like none that he had ever felt before. A rage set so deep in his bones that he thought he might very well be able to rip the iron door out of its frame with only his hands.

"Open the door! I'll kill you sons of bitches! I'll kill you all!" he roared, furiously slamming himself into it. He didn't care about the pounding in his head from the concussion or the way his ribs protested with each full body hit to the solid metal sheet, all he cared about was the fact that these people had hurt Mac, if not killed him and that was all his mind needed to forget about his numerous injuries and put everything he had into getting outside of the damn cell.

"Mac! Mac! Let me see him! Don't hurt him!" by that point, Jack was nearly hysterical, switching between begging and threatening and just calling out for his boy. Tears were gathering in his eyes in a way that they never did. He didn't cry very easily, but right then the tears began to roll down his cheeks.

"Mac," he whispered, hands falling to his sides. For the first time in his life he had absolutely no idea what to do. He didn't know if he should cry or scream or, honestly, vomit from the disgust he felt filling him up. Maybe all three. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew he was going into shock if the sudden dizziness and blurry vision were anything to go by. He stumbled back a few steps before collapsing back hard onto his bottom. He could feel his chest tightening with panic and the way every nerve ending in his body seemed to be shutting down, leaving him completely numb aside from the emotional agony that came with surely losing his son.

His breaths were coming in short gasps. Like the shock, the back of his mind told him that he was having a panic attack and he needed to calm down before he hyperventilated. It was ironic in a way. His subconscious was giving him the same advice that he always gave Mac during an episode. But Mac was gone now, and his subconscious had to just be taunting him, punishing him for letting Mac get hurt, for letting those people take him away.

He found himself whispering "Please, please, please…" over and over again until the words turned themselves into a garbled mess and he couldn't even make out his own words any longer. There was no particular reason for his whispered mantra, just a desperate, heartbreaking plea for something, anything.

The sound of the door opening was what eventually broke him out of his depressive trance. He was on his feet so fast that his head spun slightly from his concussion that he had managed to forget about in the heat of the moment. Once again ignoring it, he planted his feet and put on a steely look, still terrifying even with the puffy red eyes.

The Not Bruce guard came through the door first, followed by Nikki and Actual Bruce. It seemed that the two guards were being extra cautious now, almost anticipating him to put up a fight. They were right, and even if he knew his efforts would be fruitless in the end, he couldn't help it when he launched himself at Nikki.

He hadn't even gotten three steps before Not Bruce had the barrel of his gun pointed at his chest, right above his heart. For a second, the briefest second, he considered telling him to do it. To pull the trigger and just end his suffering, end a life where he wouldn't be able to take care of the beautiful little blond boy that had thoroughly melted his heart in just under a year. But then he thought of Diane and Riley. Mac's death was already going to destroy both of them, absolutely kill them, but he didn't think they would be able to handle his too. He didn't want to leave Diane as a single parent and a grieving widow. And just because he would never get to see Mac in any school plays or sports or his high school graduation that didn't mean that he had any right to leave Riley to a similar fate, just the other way around. He still had them to live for, even if the little ray of sunshine named Mac was no longer in his universe.

"Move back or I'll shoot." For a moment, Jack hesitated. The guard shoved the gun harder into his chest and snarled "Now!" Begrudgingly, Jack took a step back, but still kept his eyes locked on Nikki, like a predator hunting his prey.

She offered him a sadistic grin. "You know, I really wasn't expecting this. I mean, I thought you Deltas were supposed to be all stoic and macho but here we are with one dead little baby and you're crying your eyes out."

"I know who you are now," Jack said lowly, choosing not to take the obvious bait. He didn't snarl, didn't growl, but the dark tenor his voice took on was somehow so much worse.

"Do tell then."

"You're Nikki Carpenter, if that's even your real name, and you have custody of Carl's daughter, the guy who tried to take my daughter. I knew I recognized you from somewhere." Silently, he damned himself to hell and back. If he had only noticed back then that something was going, hadn't just assumed that he had bad luck, then maybe they wouldn't be in the current situation.

_I wouldn't be in the current situation_ , he somberly corrected himself. Mac wasn't there anymore. He was dead. Dead because Jack hadn't protected him, hadn't been there for him when he had sworn he would never let anything hurt that sweet little boy anymore.

"Ten points for Gryffindor, Tex. I was wondering how long it would take that thick skull of yours to remember that particular detail. Carl was just a lackey though. My _real_ guard service is much more sophisticated. I mean, I'm sure you witnessed Carl's…issue. He wasn't fit to take care of the kid anyway." She then leaned down close to Jack's ear and if it hadn't been for the gun now digging painfully into his chest, he would have strangled her.

She whispered conspiratorially, "And between you and me, the ones with mental problems are the easiest to control, especially when they don't even know their own daughter has been dead for months." Absolutely appalled at the fact that this woman so easily slaughtered innocent children, Mac being one, Jack had to hold back the urge to spit in her face. "You're a sick bitch, you know that?"

"Why thank you. Now, I'm sure you know I didn't come in here to chat. You see, we still got that small issue of the weapon. Seeing as that code wasn't real and all…" she made a tsk, tsk noise and gazed at him with her piercing blue eyes. "You really didn't gain anything out of that little stunt though. I mean, all you managed to do was get the little genius' brains splattered all over my cement."

Jack's stomach churned painfully, and he had to shove down the bile in his throat along with a sob he was sure would break through if one more chip in his already-fragile armor came along. He was already sure he was broken so far beyond repair, but one more snide comment from Nikki about her murdering his little boy and he was sure he would lose it more than he already had.

"Why?"

"What was that?" Nikki asked.

"I asked you why. Why us? What association do you even have with James MacGyver? I think you owe me that much."

To his surprise, Nikki laughed a loud, hearty laugh. "I owe you? I don't owe you anything Dalton. But, seeing as you're already a sad excuse for a human and we're just going to kill you anyway, I don't see any reason why I can't humor you as your dying wish. Okay, let's see. Almost two years ago now, my organization was growing exponentially, but I felt that something, or rather someone, was missing."

Jack bit his tongue and listened in silence, retaining every single bit of information Nikki was expelling. What he wouldn't have given to have Mac's listening memory right then. He had to choked down another sob when he thought about the boy's amazing memory. Nothing about Mac ever ceased to amaze him.

"I spoke to some of my contacts and eventually I came across James. He was a young guy, but the best there was and I go for nothing less than the best. I liked him. HE was everything I was looking for in a partner; confident, cocky, sneaky, clever. I knew he had a kid, and I knew the kid had been the cause of James' wife's death. James hated the kid, so I did too." She gazed off with a strange look in her eyes, almost as if she were reminiscing. Jack shuddered to think that there may have been something romantic between the two psychopaths.

"When James was arrested and I got ahold of some of his letters, I helped him to form a plan. It was a win-win on all sides; he wanted you and the kid dead as revenge, I needed that weapon he built for a little project I'm working on, and my boys got to have some fun disposing of you along the way. Everything has worked out perfectly, even if James isn't here to enjoy this with me. Now, I think that's enough. I just really wanted to see you break down after the brat's death and besides, I've already got a new plan to get the weapon so you're no longer needed. Bruce and Logan will be back to get rid of you later."

With that, she spun on her heal and marched out of the room followed by Not Bruce, who's name was apparently Logan. Bruce was the last one out the door. Jack glanced at him for the briefest second, and once again, Jack saw his eyes soften ever so slightly and a hint of sympathy appear in them. Quickly, once again before Jack had time to process the look, the door was shut behind the trio and Jack was left with his misery.

0000

"Where's your dad being held, huh? Tell me!" Nikki screeched at the toddler who was tied to a wooden chair.

"I 'on't know!" Mac sobbed, squirming in his chair as Logan brought a fist down on his sensitive chest. Of course, the guard wasn't using anywhere near his normal strength, nothing like what he had used on Dalton, because that would kill the toddler before they got their information, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

"Don't lie to me!"

She backhanded the toddler to which the small boy let out a cry of both pain and fear. Nikki knew that they hadn't let the terrorist's prison location be released to the public, or anyone below a certain security level within the CIA for that matter, because they were worried about a) the public rioting to kill him or b) his terrorist friends like herself coming to bust him out.

Now, she wanted two things. To get the nuclear weapon that James had built so the CIA could no longer hang that over their heads (plus they could use it for other, more…classified things) and to get James out of whatever deep, dark hole they had put him in. She wasn't naïve enough to believe that Mac would know anything about the weapon when most people within the CIA didn't even know about, so she wasn't about to waste her time going down a road that would only be a dead end. However, seeing as Dalton wasn't telling her about the weapon, he certainly would never in a million years tell her where James was, even if she threatened to put a bullet through his skull, the kid was her next best option.

What she had told Dalton was true, too. She did have a new method to get the weapon that didn't involve him. They could get rid of him now and save her the work of interrogating it out of him, especially now since she had "killed off" her best leverage. It had been worth it though. The utter brokenness in the agent's eyes had been reward enough. As much as she would have loved to enjoy that brokenness, to draw out his suffering, the longer they kept him alive, the longer the agency had to find them.

Logan gave another good strike to the kid's chest just for the heck of it and felt a delicate rib snap under the force. The poor toddler gave a hoarse scream and, with what little strength he seemed to have, kicked out angrily at Logan who easily dodged the assault with one step to the side. Mac took in short, wheezy breaths that sounded terribly painful, and it was a wonderful sound to Nikki. She wanted to get James out of his prison so badly she couldn't even fathom the fact that the toddler didn't actually know anything. He was her only lead and if beating him to death didn't get her answers, then maybe it would at least give her some relief as to her blazing fury she had felt at the boy and his family since the day James had been put away.

Roughly, she grabbed his tear-streaked face and jerked it up towards her. "Tell me wear he is right now, or I will put a bullet in your head for real this time."

Mac whimpered and tried to curl away, but his movement was severely restricted due to his bound hands. She flipped the safety off of her pistol and rested it on his forehead, knowing the genius would surely get the message.

She rested her finger on the trigger, not even disgusted in the fact that she was about to murder a child. Right as she was about to get rid of him for real this time, there was a knock at the steel door.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Nikki growled, lowering the gun slightly.

"Uhh, it's S-Sam," came the shaky reply to which Nikki came back with her own "Get in here!"

The door swung open to reveal a skinny young man with thick glasses, a plaid button up, khakis, and an awful red tie that did absolutely nothing for his outfit. He had an iPad clutched in a white-knuckle grip against his chest. He resembled a teacher's assistant rather than a terrorist's employee and he looked like he would rather be literally anywhere else on the planet than where he was right then

"Um, ma'am, I was just…just wondering what you wanted done with Dimaco's," he gulped "b-body. The disposal team needs to s-start cleaning up as soon as possible, since…it's your protocol. No evidence, right? Any-anyway, I also need your replacement for him as soon as possible." His face was as pale as his white knuckles and a cold sweat had broken out on his forehead. Clearly, he was terrified of Nikki.

"And you interrupted me to ask me something as stupid as that? Are you asking for a bullet in your head Samuel?" She whirled on him, her icy blue eyes firing up with agitation. Were good interns really that hard to find? Samuel shook his head fervently and took a step back.

"Well, then I suggest you use that brain of yours that is supposedly so big, and figure it out yourself. You'll have two bodies to clean up in a matter of minutes anyhow. Now get out of my sight!" She took two warning shots as the wall right beside the skinny man who squeaked and booked it out the door.

Nikki jerked her gun at Bruce. "Go take care of Dalton. It's early, but I want him off my shoulders."

Bruce gave a grunt of acceptance and stalked out of the room, pulling the door shut behind him. Once he was gone, Nikki turned back to the petrified toddler who was barely conscious. "Alright, let's find out where your daddy is."

0000

Bruce strode down the long hallway between the room where the child was being kept and the room where they were holding Dalton. The bunker was quiet, as The Commander said it should be, aside from the small clean-up crew scrubbing away at the rust-stained concrete outside of the cell door. Although it looked like a mess now, he knew from experience that no DNA would be able to be found by the time they were finished. They were scarily good at their jobs.

But as The Commander herself had said, she only hired the best.

He quickly passed the small group, two of which were carrying a bag right about Alex's size, and proceeded to quickly unlock Dalton's cell. If this was going to work, he needed to act quickly. While he might have been able to convince The Commander to keep the kid around a little while longer for "information's sake", Dalton was going to be executed whether he was the one to do it or not. When she was finished with someone, she meant it. If you weren't useful to her, you were better off dead.

He wasn't about to let that happen again. It was bad enough how many families, how many lives, The Commander had already destroyed, he would be damned if he let this be another mark on her already tarnished death tally board. He may have been too weak to keep her from his family the first time, but he wasn't going to make that mistake twice. Somehow, some way, he was going to get the kid and the Delta out alive, if not 100% intact.

Even after working for her for years, after seeing countless people in Dalton's exact position, it still broke his heart knowing all too well what these people were feeling. What The Commander did best was rip families apart. Rip and tear and stomp on a person's feelings until they were too emotionally scarred to continue. If it weren't for the sheer fact that she was a sadist, she wouldn't have any reason for physical torture.

The ex-Delta didn't even look up from his position on the floor when Bruce opened the door. He didn't even flinch, either, at the sound of his boots echoing off of the cement floor or the door clanging back into its frame. He just sat there, sad and broken, and it caused to Bruce to momentarily stop and just stare at Jack with no pity, because Dalton didn't seem the type to appreciate pity, just absolute sympathy.

"If you're gonna kill me, just get it over with. If you're not, I suggest ya leave 'cause I ain't got nothin' else to say to ya," Jack spat, his voice somehow emotionless and terrifying at the same time. The scariest part, however, was the simple resignation laced in it.

Knowing he needed to snap out of it and get on with it quickly, Bruce squatted down so he could speak in lower voice with the agent.

"I'm not going to kill you." When Jack's head snapped up and he seemed about to open that big mouth of his, Bruce held up a hand.

"If you want to get out of here alive, I suggest you shut up and listen."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, in case I don't update before then or you don't read my other works, I just want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, a belated Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, and any other holiday you may celebrate. I also hope that the New Year finds you and your families safe and healthy!


	24. Survival

_Previously:_

_"I'm not going to kill you." When Jack's head snapped up and he seemed about to open that big mouth of his, Bruce held up a hand._

_"If you want to get out of here alive, I suggest you shut up and listen."_

0000

In all his years of different types of law enforcement, Jack never thought he would stoop so low as to work alongside a criminal, a terrorist at that. But seeing as he was a step away from biting it and he- Jack had to tamp down the sob that threatened to escape him- he didn't have to worry about Mac anymore, the ex-Delta was fairly certain he was fresh out of any other options.

So, he shut his mouth, something Jack was not at all accustomed to, and listened to Bruce. Not that listening to him meant that he trusted the man by a long shot. He was merely making use of every available resource he could.

"Okay. I'm going to get you out of here, so listen carefully and shut your trap for once in your life. There's only one main way in and out of this joint and it's heavily guarded. Even if I were to shoot you in the shoulder and you acted like you were dead, they give each vic two extra shots to the head on the way out to make sure they're actually dead. The Commander, Nikki actually, is terribly paranoid that way. As you can see that won't work, so we'll need other means of getting you out of here. Nikki doesn't actually know as much about this place as she puts on. There's a utility hatch that leads into the sewer system underneath in the back of the place that some of the guards use to sneak in and out for personal affairs. We get you there, you're home free," Bruce explained quickly in a hushed tone.

Jack was dumbfounded. If he was being honest with himself, he hadn't believed that Bruce was going to do jack squat. Rather expecting him to laugh in his face at the fact that Jack was naïve enough to think he was there to help him. So, the fact that the man in front of him seemed genuinely urgent and concerned about his wellbeing, which was a nice change since the people around the joint weren't exactly hospitable, was both relieving and concerning.

The guard snapped his fingers in front of his face. "Hey! Do you want to get out of here alive or not?" he demanded in a low growl. Jack nodded more out of habit to responding to questions than actually processing what was currently going on. Everything was going way too fast for his concussed, heartbroken brain to keep track of.

"Alright then. Now get out of the way while I shoot you." Jack's head whipped up once again, man was he going to have whiplash, but had the good sense to fling himself out of the way as Bruce took a shot at the wall behind him. The other man quickly dropped the gun, so it hung limply on his shoulder strap and offered Jack a hand up.

Not trusting him at all but also not wanting to "bite" the hand that was _literally_ saving his life, he took it and hauled himself to his feet. Without another word, Bruce turned and headed out the door at a pace where Jack had to jog to keep up.

Without looking over at him, Bruce continued to talk in a voice that couldn't even qualify as a whisper for how quiet it was. "We don't have much time. That shot'll fool them for a few minutes, but Nikki will be around to confirm your death soon enough. We need to get your boy while we still can."

Bruce's words slapped Jack in the face so hard it had him stopping in the middle of the corridor they were headed down. Even though he knew that they only had one shot at what they were attempting, and he didn't exactly have time for a system shut down, his mind seemed to have other ideas. Had he really heard the guard correctly. Bruce momentarily stopped too and turned back to him with a slightly alarmed glare.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

Jack stupidly open and closed his mouth multiple, looking like he was gasping for air. Bruce quickly jogged back to him and not-so-gently yanked him farther down the hall by the arm.

"You heard me right Dalton. The kid's alive. Nikki just likes to mess with people's emotions. That gunshot you heard? Her killing Alex. James is her partner, but Alex and Pedro Dominguez are the seconds, they're like second cousins or something. That just goes to show you that she doesn't care how long you've worked for her or how far up the food chain you are, she'll kill you without a second thought if you double cross her or even do something she doesn't like. I'm pretty sure she would have killed James by now if she weren't so in love with him," Bruce explained in rushed whisper, wrinkling his nose up in disgust at the last part.

Jack wasn't really listening though. Maybe he should have been, what Bruce was telling him was valuable information after all, but his mind was still stuck on the fact that Mac was alive! His boy was okay! And they might even have a chance of getting out of there, of seeing the rest of their family again.

He hadn't even realized that they had arrived at the desired room until Bruce was snapping his fingers in front of his face (he really seemed to enjoy doing that). Looking up, he was surprised to be met with not another steel door or even a wall, but an open room with only a desk, a computer, and one skinny little nerd with earbuds plugged in as its inhabitants.

Bruce drug him into the room and rapped his knuckles on the desk to get the younger man's attention, pressing his finger to his lips the moment he recovered from what looked like a near heart attack. The man's eyes were the size of quarters, and they flicked back and forth between Bruce and Jack in fear. Now, Jack knew that he must have looked pretty bad, what with the dried blood and dark circles undoubtedly under his eyes, but he didn't see any reason for the man to have the cornered animal look down to a tee unless there was a reason for it to be there.

"Sam, I need a favor," Bruce whispered in the same rushed, breathy tone that he had been using on Jack. Once again, Jack tuned Bruce out and took a good look around, looking for a sign, _any_ sign, that Mac was really alive and well. So far, he was getting a whole lot of nothing, but he couldn't afford to voice any distrust in Bruce; the man was literally saving his life.

As it was, patience had never exactly been one of his best virtues, so he really couldn't help it when he asked, "Where's Mac? I thought you said you would take me to him!"

Bruce set him with a hard stare as Sam got up and scurried out of the room. "And I am. But we needed to make a pitstop here unless you wanted to get all of our brains blown out by the guards undoubtedly guarding the kid. Give Sam a minute; the kid's good and he'll get them out of there. Then we go get your boy and get the hell out of here."

Jack didn't like, he didn't like it one bit. Unfortunately though, he wasn't stupid, nor was he suicidal. He knew that what Bruce was saying was 100% true and if they had any chance of getting out of there with alive and with Mac, he had to let this Sam kid do whatever it was he was doing.

"Alright, you need to get in there," Bruce said sternly, shoving Jack towards a utility closet in the back corner of the room.

Jack eyed him suspiciously, "And why the hell would I do that?"

"I don't have time for this," Bruce snarled, ripping the door open and somehow managing to shove Jack inside, though it wasn't like Jack was up to par for fighting him off. The guard leaned in so close that Jack could make out the dozens of little flecks of color in the man's eyes. "All I'm trying to do is get you out alive okay? So maybe it's time you stop questioning me and trust me. I get why every instinct is telling you not to, but I'm the only chance you got, so you're going to have to get over it." With that, he shut the door and Jack was plunged into total darkness.

With being in the Army and Delta and currently CIA, Jack was by no means afraid of the dark. Though, he really thought a bit of nerves rolling in the pit of his stomach was justifiable for anyone when one finds themselves standing in a pitch-black closet in the middle of a terrorist's compound with only God knew what going on right outside the door.

He held his breath when he heard the distinct sounds of heavy combat boots pounding on cement, the rushed pace making it obvious that they were trying to get somewhere important, fast. He became eerily aware of his own heartbeat, soon followed by the awareness of the lack of air in his lungs. Still, he managed not to exhale until the sound of dozens of pairs of feet had faded to the point where he could no longer hear them, even when he strained to.

After a few moments of total silence, the door swung open and Jack squinted against the light to see Bruce standing on the other side. He gestured him out and shut the door quietly behind him.

"Let's go," Bruce said softly. He headed for the doorway that would lead them back into the hall and Jack followed obediently, not wanting to risk anything if it meant he could get Mac back.

"Sam hacked into the com system and sent every guard in this place out a distress signal telling them to report to the Big Room ASAP. Supposedly Nikki has an important announcement," Bruce said, making a point of emphasizing Nikki's so called "announcement".

"Where's her blond bitchiness going to be?" Jack asked. They left the room and walked down yet another hallway that looked identical to all of the others. He had no idea how anyone found their way around the cement-and-steel compound without becoming hopelessly lost.

Jack's comment actually earned him a smirk in reply. "She'll figure out that something's going on eventually. She may be cruel, but she's not stupid. She'll go and investigate. But by that time, we'll hopefully already have you guys gone. Even if we do run into her though, she's not nearly as intimidating without her lackeys."

Jack took a moment to ponder the information he had been given as they rounded the familiar corner that lead to the hallway where he had been held. Hearing Bruce say "hopefully" really brought the whole thing into perspective. It really made him realize how risky the entire plan was. Not only was he going off the word of a man he barely knew, who also happened to work for the same people he was trying to get away from, but he was also letting said man take the lead in the entire operation. His usual paranoia was certainly on at full force, but his spidey-senses were silent besides the screaming urge for him to get to Mac, to save Mac. He always trusted his spidey-senses.

Bruce stopped in front of a door identical to his own and parallel to it. He couldn't believe it. Mac had been right down the hall the whole time! He had been right there, and Jack had never known. He had believed the boy was dead based off of a simple assumption that Nikki had influenced him into. Jack had been crying over a little boy who wasn't even dead, all the while Nikki could have been doing only God knows what to that same little boy! And although the little voice in the back of his head reminded him that there was nothing he could have done even if he had known Mac was alive, he couldn't help but hate himself to the very deepest parts of his soul.

He had done what he had sworn never to do again after James had regained custody of Mac. He had failed the little boy and that was something that he would continue to hold against himself until the day he died.

Bruce punched a code into the keypad near the door and it opened with the deafening sound Jack had grown to despise. Jack couldn't wait any longer. He shoved past the man and rushed into the little cement cell. The sight that greeted him, however, quite literally stopped him in his tracks.

As promised, Mac was there and alive, although if it weren't for the distinct movement of the toddler's chest, Jack wouldn't have been sure. He was tied to chair that was firmly screwed into the cement floor below. His tiny wrists and ankles were bound to the chair with rope, small rivulets of blood staining the cuffs of his jeans and little brown jacket from where he had squirmed so much the rope had rubbed his skin raw. His small face was what had tears welling up in Jack's eyes. The baby face was almost unrecognizable through the plethora of blood and bruising, the colors grisly shades of purple, black, and crimson red. His eyes were shut, and his head was lolling on his chest in his unconscious state.

"Mac!" Jack cried and didn't hesitate to return the glare he received from Bruce for yelling and drawing attention to their location. Frankly, he didn't give a damn in the moment. All he cared about was the blond-haired little boy tied to the chair in front of him.

The Texan knelt down and began to untie the bindings, his fingers fumbling in his rush to get Mac out and into his arms where he could feel physical evidence that he was alive and breathing. As the last rope fell away, Mac slumped forward into Jack and the man scooped him gently into his arms.

"Mackie, wake up bud," Jack murmured, jostling him slightly. He got no response from the boy aside from a sort, harsh breath. Damn broken ribs again. It seemed that they would just get those healed and they would be broken all over again. It couldn't be healthy.

"I hate to break up the happy reunion, but we need to go. Now," Bruce called from his position in the doorway where he had been keeping watch.

Jack leaned down and placed a feather light kiss on a small patch of clear skin on his forehead. "Alright, buckaroo, here we go."

He maneuvered the toddler so he was holding him more securely against his chest and turned to the door just as the sound of running feet filled his ears. Bruce immediately held up his gun, his finger poised and ready to shoot over the trigger. Jack clutched Mac just a little tighter and slipped to the side so he was hidden behind the interior wall. No one was going to take Mac from him again.

When the mysterious person rounded the corner, Bruce swore colorfully under his breath and lowered his weapon with an irritated sigh. Confused Jack poked his head around the doorframe and sighed himself when he saw Sam rushing towards them.

"What the hell Sam?!" Bruce demanded. His eyes travelled around the hallway conspicuously, checking for any threat that could have sent the very nonathletic Sam barreling through the halls like something was after him.

After a moment of huffing and panting, Sam looked up at the small group with fear filled eyes. "Nikki...Nikki knows. S-she's on her way. She's gonna kill us. All of us."

"Shit!" Bruce growled. He allowed his semi-automatic to swing freely from its strap and reached down for the Glock sitting in his thigh holster. He shoved it at Jack and situated his semi back into his hands once again. "Take this. Sam knows the way to the utility tunnel. He'll get you there. I'll stay back to hold her and the others off."

Jack's eyes widened. Even as he took the offered gun, he shook his head fervently. "Not gonna happen hoss. I know we're supposed to be on opposite sides here, but you risked your neck to get me and my boy out of here alive. I ain't about to leave you behind. Friend or enemy, I owe you."

"We don't have time for this. Go!" Bruce demanded and shoved Jack farther down the hall. The sound of dozens of pairs of feet soon filled the small space and Jack realized that he was going to have to decide. Save Mac or save a man he barely knew. No matter how horrible of a person it might have made him seem, it was a no brainer for Jack.

Getting the clue, Sam took off down the hall with Jack close on his heels. They were barely around another corner before the shouting and the gunshots started. Jack forged on and tried not to think about the man that had saved their lives taking bullets meant for him.

0000

"It's right around this corner," Sam called over his shoulder. Jack didn't even bother to acknowledge him; he simply gripped the gun in his right hand a little firmer and hugged Mac with his left a little tighter. The blond had started to wake up a little as they ran, whimpering and flexing his small fists into Jack's shirt every time he was jostled in Jack's arms. Unable to really console him in their current situation, he settled for whispering, "almost there, bud, almost there," over and over again.

They were yet to encounter any resistance from anyone within the compound. For that, Jack would be eternally grateful to whomever was upstairs. With Mac in his arms and in his own current condition, it wasn't like he was in any shape to fight off armed terrorists. Not to mention the fact that he highly doubted Sam, in all of his nonathletic glory, would be able to fight off a Beagle puppy.

Once they had rounded the corner, it became immediately apparent on where they were going. At the end of the hall was an exposed pipe about six feet in diameter with a rounded hatch and circular handle on top. They jogged up to their means of escape and stopped to take a glance over it.

Jack turned to the tech boy who was red faced a folded in half, gasping for air like he had just ran a marathon, and huffed at him impatiently. "You want to hurry it up, hoss? We ain't exactly waitin' on a dinner date here."

Slowly, Sam unfolded himself and nodded, still puffing out thin gasps of air. He pulled a key ring out of his pocket and, with trembling fingers, began to undo the padlock holding the hatch in place. After the man had dropped it for the second time, Jack gave a frustrated growl and made a split second decision. Even though he would rather shove a hot poker down his own throat than give Mac to anyone in their current situation, especially someone he didn't know from Adam and happened to work for their kidnappers, he came to the conclusion that it was necessary if they had any hope of getting out in one piece.

"For the love of God!" he snarled and gently shoved Mac in Sam's direction. "Hold him, will ya? And I swear to all that's holy that I'll slit your throat if I so much as see you holding him the wrong way."

Sam's eyes went wide as he clumsily took the toddler into his arms and held him slightly out from his body like he was expecting him to explode. Mac whined softly, seemingly sensing that the person holding him was not his father, even in his unconscious state.

"Hold him against ya. He's a toddler not a damn pipe bomb!" Jack hissed even as he swiftly scooped the keys up off of the floor and undid the lock in one motion. He spun the handle in another and the hatch immediately popped open.

"Alright let's-"he was abruptly cut off by the sound of a bullet sliding into a chamber almost directly followed by a terrified squeak coming from Sam's direction.

He heard a sadistic chuckle and had to grit his teeth to keep a stream of expletives from escaping. "Ooh, so close but yet so far, chico rudo," laughed the owner of the chuckle in heavily accented English.

Jack clenched his eyes shut and squeezed his hand around the pistol. He felt burning fury roar up inside of him, starting at his very core and spreading outward to every nerve ending until it felt like a wave of boiling water had crashed through his veins. He had never met the man, but he had heard enough stories and he knew, he just freaking knew, it was Dominguez. The man who had tortured Mac at a time when he was literally just learning how to walk. He had tied him to a chair and beat him without a second thought. He was a baby, damn it! He hadn't deserved it; _no one_ deserved that! Mac was the sweetest child to ever walk the earth and he had had things done to him that no person ever should. And one of his main tormentors was standing probably only feet away.

Jack didn't consider himself to be a sadistic person. He wanted to help people and hated seeing them in pain, hence why he had joined the Army and then the CIA, but Jack never wanted to see someone in pain so much. If they had the time, Jack truly thought he would enjoy tying Dominguez to a chair and repaying every beating Mac had ever taken tenfold.

As it was, Jack was going to thoroughly enjoy watching his bullet land in the man's forehead.

"I would not do that, Dalton. Put the gun down and turn or I shoot the two boys here."

Jack had a moment of inner conflict. He glanced to his left and saw Sam standing just off to the side. His brown eyes were wide and fear-filled behind his glasses and his arms were shaking so badly that Mac was visibly vibrating in his grip. The blond was semi-conscious. He wasn't really moving aside from flexing his small fingers into the fabric of Sam's shirt, but his eyes were cracked enough to see the slivers of two hazy blue irises underneath. If he didn't surrender, he ran the risk of losing Mac, and Sam too, if he wasn't fast enough in shooting Dominguez. On the other hand, if he did surrender, all they had done would be for nothing and they no doubt would all be killed anyhow. Either option made Jack sick to his stomach.

"I will not tell you once again Dalton, lower the weapon and turn or I shoot, starting with the child."

"I don't think so."

Jack's eyes went wide as the new voice joined the party. It was female and it was a voice that he had thought he would never hear again. Hearing it then sent a thrill of relief down the Texan's spine and for the first time since he had heard Nikki's gun click in the woods, he felt that everything just might be okay.

There was a scuffle, a bang, and the sound of a body hitting the ground. Jack whirled, his heart pounding, and saw Casey standing with her gun in position to shoot, blood splattered on her clothes and Dominguez's lifeless body lying in a pool of his own blood. Sam was frozen and pale, pure terror and shock written across his features. He, too, was splattered in the other man's blood. Mac's eyes were now at half-mast. He reached up slowly and rubbed at his eyes, whimpering when he realized a) there was fresh blood that wasn't his all over him and b) Jack wasn't holding him.

"D-dada?" he croaked. Attesting to just how out of it he was, Mac had resorted to calling him "dada". He had never called him that. It was always "daddy".

Jack didn't even have time to really think about the new term before his head was swirling and black spots danced across his vision like an inky sea of oblivion. The last thing he heard was Casey calling for backup before his world faded to dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, here's the most recent chapter. I'm so sorry about how bad I am at updating. I really am trying to update as often as I have time to write. Don't forget to leave a comment on what you think!


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